


Neon Summer

by stelliums



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Saïx/Xemnas (Kingdom Hearts), Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24538663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelliums/pseuds/stelliums
Summary: After dropping out of college, Xion takes a job as a singer at a shady bar and has to work closely with Demyx, the resident musician. Roxas returns home from Europe for the summer and finds a different type of freedom.
Relationships: Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Demyx/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

The unlit streets did nothing to dampen the young woman’s optimism as she left her weary companion in the dust. There were street lamps, but they only emitted a dull, orange light that flickered frantically. Others were broken, shattered on purpose or by accident. Glass covered the pavement.

Xion glanced over her shoulder at Axel when he paused at a corner. “Are you coming, or am I going to be late because of you?” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

“Xion... You’re going the wrong way. XIII is this way.” Axel pointed his thumb in the other direction. “If you get lost around here, you’re the one that’s going to be late. Saïx doesn’t like tardiness.”

She sighed and followed him down a different street. “And you said you’ve only been there once! Besides, I’m not going to get lost while I have my helpful guide.” She held onto his arm and he patted her head.

“...Everyone knows the direction to this place, Xion. You didn’t because you grew up in the most sheltered, picket-fenced district in the city.” Axel shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket. He grabbed his friend’s hand when she wandered over to a man walking on the opposite side of the street. “Don’t.”

“‘Everyone knows’. Yeah, right. Okay.” She hummed. The drink she had been given to calm her jitters must have worked a little too well. “You’re just trying to cover up the fact that you used to be a regular.”

“You don’t just go asking strangers for things! I know you only moved here a couple months ago, but you should know by now.”

“Sure, dad.”

Axel glanced away and muttered, “I’m not old enough to be your dad.” They came across a building with a neon light attached to it. When it flashed up, it revealed the Roman numeral for thirteen; XIII. “Well, we’re here. Come on, I’ll take you round the back.”

“We’re here!” Xion’s eyes lit up. The back of the building was nothing to marvel at, only a back door and a van that seemed to be permanently parked in the driveway. “Where’s the guy who told me to show up here? Saïx, was it?”

Someone scoffed. “Saïx wouldn’t handle newbies. From the way he acts, you’d think he’s allergic.” A young man with brown, unkept hair was leant on the railing in front of the van’s door. He was smoking something that Xion suspected wasn’t a cigarette. “Heya! I’m Demyx, resident musician. I do guitar, sitar, bass... y’know, big string instruments. I’d give you a business card but I ran out.” He extended a hand to her from his ‘balcony’.

“...I guess we’ll be working together, then. Xion, singer on probation.” She took his hand and shook it, ignoring the disapproving look from Axel. At least she sounded somewhat professional.

Demyx whistled. “New songbird, huh? Our old singer kind of... up and left. One of the guests funded a tour for her, apparently. I don’t know if I believe it, but it happens. So, are you ready for your first performance?”

“...I’m performing when, exactly?”

“Let’s see...” He checked his watch. “Ten minutes? Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great. The place is pretty empty right now. We wouldn’t want to throw you in the deep end yet.” Demyx noticed Axel glaring at him from a short distance away. “It’s been a while, buddy! Where’ve you been?”

“Getting my life together, or trying to. I’m making sure she doesn’t get into trouble with people like you. Don’t touch her, got it?”

Xion had never seen Axel as particularly intimidating. But when he finished talking to Demyx, he backed away and swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Got it. The young lady is safe with me. We’re going to be spending a _lot_ of time together.” Demyx didn’t seem to realise that running his mouth wouldn’t help his case.

A sour-looking man in a suit hovered around the back door. His blue hair – clearly dyed – was tied up in a neat ponytail and he had twin scars across his face. His gaze was filled with contempt while he watched them. When Xion and Demyx rested their eyes on him, he huffed and went over to meet them.

“You, follow me. Your... attire...” He looked Xion up and down. Her outfit – only a hoodie, a band t-shirt and jeans – wasn’t made for the possibility of performing that day. “Is unsuitable. Come inside, I suppose someone will have something for you.”

“Thank you! Uhm, sorry about my clothes.”

“...You’ll know tomorrow.” The older man led Xion inside the bar through the back door. There was a stage at the front of the grand room, with alcoves of seating nearby. The bar itself was currently managed by a sullen-looking woman with a bored expression. “Larxene! Get one of your dresses from the back!”

“Ugh... why me?! It’s not my fault she didn’t bring anything!” The bartender yelled across the room. Saïx, her current unwilling guide, made a zipping motion across his lips. Somehow that managed to shut her up quite quickly, although she was still muttering to herself as she went into one of the back rooms. She came out holding a slim, black dress. It was simple, but Xion didn’t need anything flashy, only something that would get her through the night.

“There’s a changing room in the back, go change. You’re on in five.” Saïx instructed. 

The bar was slowly filling up with guests. Some wore expensive suits in impractical colours while others wore more ordinary going-out clothes. Xion reminded herself that she didn’t have time to stare. She inched herself into the back room, frantically apologising to the staff. She tugged on the dress; it was shorter than expected, given how tall Larxene was. It still managed to look like a ballgown on her, though.

“The set is ready! Songbird, come on out!” She overheard Demyx call. The walls in the back rooms must be thin. Xion sneaked out of the changing rooms and weaved in between guests to get to the stage. 

Demyx was already there, tuning his guitar. He stopped what he was doing to wave at her, although she thought that she caught his eyes lingering where the fabric of the dress hugged her. He slung an arm over her shoulder. “Axel’s watching somewhere out there. You don’t have to be nervous, just sing. They _did_ give you a song to sing when they told you to show up, right?” Xion nodded. “Okay, good. Let’s go!”

They were given a stationary microphone for the night rather than one that was attached to Xion; perhaps the technology was too expensive to trust a newcomer with. Looking out at the guests, though, she doubted that the bar would have any trouble with money. Her hands shook as she nodded to Demyx to start the music. The song that the owners had told her to sing was a slow one, soulful and sweet. XIII wasn’t a nightclub; the music was to provide atmosphere. Xion tried not to focus on the faces below her, or the amber eyes of her potential boss scrutinising her every move.

* * *

Roxas took a deep breath as he took a seat at one of the tables. It was his first day back home after a year; he could use a celebratory drink. His thoughts went to the people that he had spent his last summer at home with, the summer after high school. His twin brother, Sora, and his girlfriend Kairi, who were studying at the same college abroad. Sora had changed his major five times now, and Kairi was taking literature. He video-chatted with them every week; there was no chance that Sora would miss a chance to talk with his brother. And then there was Xion; smart, capable, trustworthy Xion. Everyone knew that she would go to a good college, for whatever course she chose, and do something wonderful with her life.

He closed his eyes and let himself melt into the music. Roxas hadn’t been to this bar before; he was only nineteen, after all. But since he was in a different part of the city, he didn’t think that anyone would recognise the kid that left with a backpack and flight tickets to Europe. What was being nineteen without an old, forged ID?

The singer’s voice was familiar to him. He assumed that he had heard her voice, or something like it, on the radio before. Roxas stood up and stepped closer to the stage to catch a glance of the singer.

“Xion–?”

A man tapped him on the shoulder. “How do you know her? I thought she wasn’t from this part of the city. Or that’s what she told me.” He asked.

The stranger held a drink in his hand and looked like he wouldn’t be out of place on a motorcycle. How did he know Xion? A friend, or... boyfriend? No, Xion wouldn’t run away from her dreams and join a band or biker gang or whatever he was involved in – if that had been her plan, then she would have told him.

“...School. I just– didn’t think I’d see her up there, in somewhere like this.” Roxas admitted. “And you are...?”

“Axel. I’m just a friend... the kid needs someone to look out for her. Look, the show isn’t going to end any time soon, so mind if I grab you a drink? I’m due for another anyway.” Axel glanced over at his empty glass before he led him to a table in the corner of the room, away from the more extravagant guests but still in view of the stage. “What do you drink?”

“Cider, mostly. I have to drive home later, and I don’t want to show up on my parent’s doorstep drunk after not seeing them for a year.” Roxas took a seat, still primarily focused on Xion. “I didn’t realise that Xion needed someone to look out for her.”

“Larxene, two strong ciders!” Axel called. Larxene muttered something to herself as she poured the drinks. Axel went to collect them for himself, although Larxene’s furrowed brows and frown suggested that the two of them weren’t fond of each other. Once he took the drinks, he slid one across to Roxas. “Doesn’t everyone need someone to look out for them?”

Not Xion. Xion had always been the most competent person in their friend group. She was the one that was called when someone was crying on the other end, not the other way around. She had always had her head on straight, and a clear plan of what to do next. What had happened to her over the past year? But when he looked up at her on the stage, she was smiling. She looked happy. There was a possibility that there was nothing wrong.

“I guess. But I don’t have anyone looking out for me right now.”

“What about your family? You’re home to see them, right?”

Roxas rested his head on his hand and took a sip of his drink. He looked over at the people around him. “Not in places like this. It would’ve been smarter to come here with friends, wouldn’t it?” He laughed at himself.

“Maybe. I could show you around the area, if you’d like. If you’re anything like Xion, then you must not really know your way around. We should finish this drink first, though. Don’t want to waste my money.”

“Sure. I’m hopeless with directions... I wandered around here for ages just to find somewhere to get a drink.” Roxas smiled brightly at him. He and Xion had grown up close to each other; he had just happened to pass through the area on the way to his parent’s home. He finished off his drink quickly, excited to begin this personal tour. “Oh, and I’m Roxas. I’m only here for the summer.”

That felt like it was important to tell him. If Axel expected him to stick around, he would be sorely mistaken. His college courses would begin after the summer - he would be gone before either of them knew it. He watched Axel’s face drop for a second before he regained his cheerful demeanour. So Xion’s friend, as he called himself, was looking for something in him. Wasn’t that always the case?

“Let’s go!” Axel said as soon as the last drop drained from his glass. He grabbed Roxas’s hand and dragged him outside to begin their tour. Roxas found that he didn’t mind Axel treating him like they had met months, rather than minutes, ago. “Not to brag, but I’ve been living here for long enough to know every corner of this district. So, Roxas, ready to head off?”

Roxas glanced over his shoulder at the door to the bar they had just left. The audience must have managed to coax Xion into an encore. He caught himself smiling to himself. He had never seen her so... free. He met Axel’s eyes and squeezed his hand. “I’m ready. Don’t leave anything out!” He confirmed. It was about time that he learned a new type of freedom too.


	2. Chapter 2

The district was a maze compared to any of the other parts of the city. Many of the places frequented by the locals - XIII included - weren’t signposted. Those were merely a sample of the many reasons why being shown around the area was the best method of getting to know it.

“So, Axel... why did you choose to walk? We could just take my car, and we’re going to have to come back to it later–“

“Some parts of this place are more accessible on foot. Besides, it’s a good night for a walk.” Axel responded.

He hopped over a wire fence with ease. This had been his world since he was a kid, and he was more than pleased to share it with the right people. Roxas watched him in utter awe. Axel chuckled at him, holding his hand against the wiring. “Want help? There’s a shortcut to your parents’ place this way too, if you ever want another way to see me.”

“Who’s saying I want to see you after this?” Roxas poked his tongue out at him. After studying the fencing with his arms crossed, he used a broken section as a place to lift himself over.

“Your eyes reveal everything. Just kidding, I’m not some cryptic weirdo. I was just messing with you.” When he looked a little closer at Roxas’s eyes, he noticed just how many stars could be reflected in them. A whole sky, it seemed. Axel glanced away; it was rude to stare, even at something so mesmerising.

“Where does this path lead, then? We’ve been through most of the residential area, what places are there left to find?” Roxas gazed along a dirt path that looked to be made by animals rather than humans. There were no streetlights at the other end, and the moon while beautiful offered little in the way of light.

Axel started to follow the path. His heavy boots made sticks crunch underfoot. “Well it’s... not new, per sè, just... a different perspective.” He hadn’t shown Roxas every corner of his home, despite his promises to do so. There were some places that were better left alone. Metal tiles served as a makeshift staircase.

When they reached the top, Roxas appeared breathless. “Woah... Wait, are we on the rooftops?” He reached into the backpack he wore and took out a professional-looking camera. “This is the best angle!” He started taking pictures of the clear sky was an expression of pure joy on his face. That was what the tour was all about; seeing his face light up like that.

The air felt clearer up there. It was the best place to clear his head; Xion had almost fallen off of his rooftop trying to find him one day. He smiled to himself at the memory before he was pulled back into the present by Roxas’s voice.

“...This is an amazing picture of you.” Roxas leaned in towards him and showed him the camera. The screen showed a picture of Axel gazing wistfully up at the stars. It had even captured his smile. “Once I can print these out, I’ll give them to you.”

“Hobby?”

“For now. After the summer I’m going to start studying photography at college. I took a gap year.” Roxas shrugged and placed the camera back into his backpack. “Well, I really should be getting home. Thanks for the tour, Axel. I’ll see you around.”

“–Tomorrow.” He cut in. Why had he cut in? Roxas tilted his head to one side and raised an eyebrow at him. Axel took another deep breath and elaborated, “Meet me tomorrow at XIII. Xion should be there too, so you two can catch up. Sound good?”

Roxas took one last look at the stars. “Yeah, okay. Here’s my number. Just in case my parents drag me into some cheesy ‘welcome home’ thing.” He handed Axel a slip of paper with his number written on it. His handwriting was quick and messy, yet pleasing in its own way.

“One last thing.” He said as Roxas turned around to go back the way they had came. “Don’t make a sound, but we’re right above XIII. There’s a ladder below you, go down that and you’ll be right next to your car.”

Roxas thanked him and descended the ladder to leave Axel alone with the stars, the moon and his thoughts. The music that had accompanied them as he and Roxas had left the bar had gone. The silence was peaceful, aside from the occasional car. Something about it nagged at the back of his mind, though.

“Oh fuck. Xion.”

* * *

As the final notes of her first song played, Xion could feel her stomach doing backflips. However quiet it had been during the start of her performance, she couldn’t count how many people were there now. There were likely hundreds of them, their eyes fixed on the stage. Hundreds of guests, and they were all clapping.

“Th-thank you.” She said into the microphone before the burning heat of the spotlight was taken away from her. Xion sat on the edge of the stage and realised that someone had left money there. Many someones, or one particularly rich individual.

Demyx picked up some of the notes and handed them to her. “It’s your money now. Songbirds like you get tipped to keep themselves beautiful, so take advantage of it while you can! Y’know, before a certain boss tells you if you have the job for real.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“...Luxury outfits and jewellery don’t come cheap, that’s all I’m saying.” Demyx hummed. He placed his instruments into each of their cases like they were his children. “Now go and find Axel, he’s probably ripping his stupid hair out. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Xion waved to him as she took the steps down from the stage. She scanned the crowd for Axel’s face. When she didn’t find him, Xion took to wandering around the bar until her legs grew tired. Guests stared at her but didn’t ask her why the singer was frantically scouring the bar, eyes brimming with tears. Their eyes bored into her. She didn’t know anyone else there; there was no one that she could ask for Axel’s whereabouts.

She approached the bar itself. “Uhm, have you seen my friend around here? Taller, older, red hair? His name’s Axel.” She stammered.

Larxene turned around. “Oh, it’s you. Yeah, I’ve seen him. He was over there, with some kid. A bit young for him, really.” The alcove that she had gestured to was empty.

Xion felt her heart sink. She crept back into the back room, her chest rapidly rising and falling. She had searched every corner; if he had left with someone else, there was little chance that he would come back for her.

Her clothes were folded in the corner of the room. The performance was over, so whether Axel was there or not, she should return back home after she was told if she would ever come back. Xion pulled on her jeans and grey hoodie. Larxene would want her dress back, surely. The bartender didn’t seem like the generous type.

Xion noticed her own face in the mirror, staring back at her. “He wouldn’t just... leave me here...” She watched her own eyes fill with tears. Why wouldn’t he be there, supporting her first ever performance? Axel had been weary of the bar in the first place. Why would he leave her, if he wanted to keep her safe? It didn’t make any sense.

A knock at the door. They sounded insistent on coming in. Xion flinched and tried not to sound like she had been crying. “It’s taken!” She didn’t sound as calm as she had intended.

“...Xion? What’s up?” She heard a creaking sound as Demyx leaned against the wall of the changing room. “Post-show breakdown? Afraid you’re not going to get the job?”

His suggestions were the last things on her mind until then. She was glad that it was him knocking on the door instead of Saïx or Xemnas. “You’re not helping!”

“Come on, you were killing it up there! You did great! You’ve got nothing to worry about, nothing at–“ The part of the cubicle that he was leaning on collapsed.

“Are you okay?!”

Demyx gazed up at her and brushed himself off. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m more worried about you! You’ve gone white, and you sounded like you were crying your eyes out in here!” Xion looked ashamed of herself. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay! The stage wasn’t that bad, was it?”

She shook her head. “N-no... Axel was going to bring me back home, but... he ditched me. He left me!” Her fingers clenched tightly into fists.

“Wow... What a scumbag. Do you have anyone else you could ask for a ride? We can wait outside for him, see if he comes back for you.” Demyx suggested. “If not, then I can take you home.”

“Really?”

“Of course. We’re buds, right? We’re a team.”

“Well... not yet. I don’t even know if I have the job yet. Singer on probation, remember?”

“Don’t give yourself so little credit.”

Xion stuffed her hands in her pockets and stepped out of the back room with him. The other staff didn’t seem to notice her. Larxene gave Demyx a dirty look, as though he was a rat on the ground. Demyx flashed her a grin instead and took Xion outside.

The air was far cooler than the humid air of the building. Xion took a deep breath and released the tension in her shoulders. The night air was calming to her, more so with the lack of people milling around outside. The breeze tugged at their hair despite the heat of summer.

“Look, I don’t wanna make you cry again, but I don’t think he’s coming.” Demyx muttered after a few minutes. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms in front of him. “Come on, let’s get you home.” Demyx offered a hand to the discouraged Xion. She held her arm close to her but still walked beside him through the pitch-black streets. Her first day hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped.


	3. Chapter 3

Xion kept her head high as she navigated the streets back home despite wanting nothing more than to lower her head, hide her face and cry. Or return to the bar, get ridiculously drunk and let Axel come home and see her a mess. That was a tempting option. Axel had some rather strong stuff at home, holiday gifts and such. How would he feel if she finished off his bottle of vintage wine they had been saving for a special occasion? It was a special occasion after all; her first performance and the first time she had been betrayed by her closest friend. 

She glanced over at Demyx. His hand remained close to her while they walked. He occasionally brushed her hand with his own and gave her a smile. In response, she only moved her hand into the pocket of her hoodie until he eventually gave up. Xion wondered if she was being too harsh on him. He was only trying to comfort his new co-worker. They had to work closely together, too - a single day more if she didn’t receive the job after the next night, or far longer than that if she did. She couldn’t afford to make her job a living hell by ruining her relationship with the person she would be spending the majority of her time around. Demyx had at least attempted to be friendly and kind to her, compared to the other XIII staff that she had met. Larxene was prickly and Saix always looked like he would prefer to be doing anything else than be anywhere near her or anyone else.

“...I forgot to tell you where we were going.” She spoke up. Her face was tinted red, both from embarrassment at her realisation and the wind. “I live at 814, in the Elmwood Building.”

Demyx paused in his steps then walked faster to keep up with Xion. It wasn’t difficult, with how much longer his legs were in comparison to hers. “Oh... So you’re rooming with Axel? What’s the deal with you two, anyways? Earlier he was sizing me up like you were his little sister, then you were crying in the back like your boyfriend had abandoned you.”

“We’re _friends_.” Xion glared at him as though he had insulted her. Axel meant a lot to her, but not in either of the ways that Demyx was suggesting. Perhaps she wouldn’t mind a big brother like Axel, although she was less certain about it after the events of the last hour or so. But not even in her wildest dreams could she imagine being his girlfriend. “I came home after a while last year and had nowhere to go... he offered up his place until I had somewhere better to go, and it just stuck. How do you know him...? You sounded like you knew him, earlier.”

“Woah, okay! Sorry ‘bout that.” Demyx held both of his hands up in a ‘backing off’ motion. “Well, me and him go way back- he fixed up my bike when it broke. I’ll admit it, I drove it into a tree. Yeah, I know, I’m a dumbass.” He shrugged. “He had a job at ol’ XIII before I did. Bartender. I’d tell you all the gossip from back then, but then he’ll probably kill you, so I’ll save your fate for now. He left for... reasons, hell if I know, and became a regular for a while before- what did he say- ‘getting his life together’.”

She caught her lips twitching into a smile when she imagined Demyx riding a motorbike straight into a tree. “...Yeah, because that’s going _so_ well.” 

They turned a corner towards the apartment block. It was relatively new compared to the district and towered over the area. If it was in any other place, older residents would complain about the building being an eyesore. But people needed homes, and young people were pleased to be out from beneath their parent’s wings and have their own place. 

“...Want me to come in when you’re home? Have some drinks, gossip, get to know each other?”

Xion shook her head. “No chance. One, we’ve only known each other for tonight and I really want to get this job, so I’ll be seeing you more. Only friends and strangers get to see me drunk. Two, if Axel’s home he’ll kill you and I don’t want you to get in the way of me giving him a piece of my mind.”

Despite her less-than-light tone, Demyx laughed. “But you have no idea how much I’d _love_ to see that! You taking Axel down a peg, I mean.” He insisted. 

“No.”

“Fine, fine. Never mind.” He fished into his pockets for a few minutes before he managed to find a crumpled receipt. “My number. Just in case some asshole leaves you alone again and you need a ride back home.”

This was an act of kindness, Xion tried to remember. His previous offer to get drunk with her dismissed, he was offering to take her home again if she needed. Not every man was trying to flirt with her, and even then Demyx seemed to want to be friends regardless of how she returned his attempts at getting closer. “Thanks. I hope I won’t have to use it.” She stuffed it into her own pocket.

Her acceptance made Demyx grin. “Hope so.” He stopped in front of the building. “Well, here we are. Shame I can’t see it, but ruffle some feathers, ‘kay songbird?” Demyx walked backwards away from her and shot finger guns at her as he went before turning around to walk back to the van outside XIII. Xion laughed at his goofy attempt to cheer her up a little. Although she still covered her mouth with her hand, her laughter was genuine.

* * *

Axel had been waiting for an hour. He had initially only stayed outside to watch Roxas drive away, but the music was over for the night. Xion had to show up outside soon- unless he had been too late to catch her. He wouldn’t blame her if she had left without him. It was his fault for getting distracted by the first blonde pretty boy to show up at the bar. He had to admit, he certainly had a type.

He leaned over the roof when he noticed someone walk outside, then immediately shrunk back when he realised that it was Saïx and Xemnas, out for a smoke break. Xemnas had a cigar in his mouth while he took one of Saïx’s cigarettes. They were talking in casual tones together, and Xemnas had his hand around Saïx’s waist. Finally, proof to the old theory that the boss of XIII only had cigars to show that he was a man with enough money to afford them. But that wasn’t what he had been hoping for. Axel sighed and climbed down from the rooftop. He took the dirt path back; if Xion was anywhere, she would be back home by this time at night. Xion’s favourite type of party was one held at home, with no one but familiar faces.

On his way back to their apartment, he thought that he saw Demyx walking the opposite way. He had that stupid grin on his face, the one he always had when things were going well for him. A tune left his lips. The sound annoyed Axel more than anything else at that moment. Demyx was never his favourite person, but he didn’t like the concept of Xion spending so much time with him. Xion was young and knew nothing about XIII except that she could perform there. But, Axel reminded herself, she was old enough to make her own decisions. And who was he to say anything to it? He passed Demyx without a word. He thought he noticed a spark of glee in his eyes when he recognised him, though, but anything could be conjured up by the brain at these hours.

He opened the door to the two-bedroom apartment slowly, in case Xion was asleep. She was, in fact, sprawled out on the sofa with a bottle of wine in her hand. Xion perked up upon seeing him and leaned on the back of the sofa.

“Hey... You.” She took another sip from the bottle. “Why the _hell_ did you leave me alone, in a place I’ve never been to?! For a guy? A guy! Some friend you are.” Xion muttered.

Cans of other alcoholic beverages were scattered across the other surfaces of the room – the table, the TV stand, the floors. Axel knew that he would have to deal with the consequences a second time tomorrow. “...Is that the vintage wine my aunt gave me? Xion, we were saving that!”

“Oh, so that’s what you care about! Not that you left your roommate, your best friend, alone after the best performance of her life? Yeah, I did fuckin’ amazing out there, thanks for asking.” Venom filled her voice and tears spilled from her eyes. “By the way, I got that stoner musician to take me back. And I got his number.”

Axel froze at the mention of Demyx. So that explained why he was walking back to XIII in such a good mood. “I guess you have the right to scream at me for this one.” He avoided telling her anything about Roxas. Xion knowing that he had left her was bad enough, but that he had left her for her old high school friend?

“You... you were meant to be there for me...” She started sniffling. “I wanted to come out and run into your arms and let you tell me how well I did... I haven’t wanted to do something so much since you met me– the least you could do was give me the bare minimum of support!”

Axel sat down next to her and started to gather up the various cans and bottles that were scattered around the room. He managed to take away the bottle of expensive wine she had been holding. “I know, kid. I promise I’ll be there tomorrow. All night. No sneaking out.” He let her lean against him and cry into his chest despite being angry with him. “...At least I think this one will be good for me.” The image of Roxas on the rooftop crossed his mind.

“...If he made you sneak out, he’s not! Throw out the whole man! None of them are worth it!” Xion insisted. As she stood up, she knocked over a few of the cans. “And if you’re such a terrible friend, why shouldn’t I throw _you_ out?!”

“It’s my house. You can always live with Demyx, if you like him so much!” Axel turned on the TV for some background noise. If he ignored her for long enough, she would usually calm down or go to bed.

“I don’t! I just don’t know my way home, and I couldn’t be stuck there all night, waiting for _you_!” Xion protested. She balled her hands into fists and crushed the piece of paper in her hand. “I’m not even going to call him!” She slammed the door to her bedroom behind her.

He knew that he shouldn’t have snapped at her. Axel had been in the wrong for leaving her behind that night. He had meant it, though, about Roxas possibly being good for him. His sweet smile and the way he seemed to search for the wonder in everything made him curious. How long would their little adventure together continue? Roxas has said it himself; he would only be back home for the summer. Perhaps he would remain a fun novelty for him for as long as it lasted. When he thought about it, Axel didn’t mind that.

Xion’s door squeaked when Axel quietly opened it. She was stretched out on the bed, a jumble of limbs and blankets. For the time being, she was asleep. Xion was a rather sleepy drunk, at least after she’d had a few and had managed to get some of her pent-up emotions out. Axel placed a bottle of water and some headache pills on the table. Hopefully the hangover that followed would wear off before her last probation performance the following night. He closed the door slowly with a click. 


	4. Chapter 4

It was early in the morning. Sunlight filtered through the blinds to create striped patterns on the worn carpet of their apartment. Axel had fallen asleep on the sofa after he had checked on Xion. He was already awake, and had cleared up the remainder of the cans from the previous night. Xion was still asleep, so he had to remain as quiet as possible as he pulled on his work uniform and crept out the door.

His uniform was made up of a pastel polo t-shirt with a name tag attached to it, and whatever black pants he owned that were ‘professional’ enough for work. The small, independent café was the last place that anyone would expect to see Axel, but it was a job and it paid enough to pay the bills. It was a bright-looking place, painted in pastel colours like his t-shirt with a mural of a sunny sky behind the counter. The café was situated on the edge of the district and often served breakfast and lunches. 

His co-worker, a woman with bright blue hair, smiled at him when he arrived. Axel leaned on the counter; he was quite sure that Aqua didn’t actually enjoy working with him. Aside from their rituals of a daily morning greeting, they didn’t speak often unless Aqua was ordering him around. He had tried to make conversation with her but she always rebuffed him with silence. 

There were only a few customers in the café at the time. An older pair of friends meeting for tea and a young family struggling to make their youngest child eat his scrambled eggs. Mornings had a tendency to be quieter; a relief for someone who took a long time to wake up. Axel yawned while Aqua gave him a dirty look. 

A ringing bell signalled to him to stand up straight and pay attention to his surroundings. “Morning, what can I get you?” Axel asked. He lowered his gaze to meet the eyes of the customer. The customer greeted him with the brightest smile that he had ever seen.

“Morning Axel- I didn’t think I’d see you _here_.” Roxas had his camera around his neck. He ran a finger through his own hair. Axel couldn’t help but picture the image of how messy Roxas’s hair was when he had just woken up. Did his voice sound different when he rolled closer to him on the other side of the bed, too comfortable to wake up? “Uhm, Axel? Hello?” He waved a hand in front of his face.

Axel blinked and laughed at himself. Had he been staring at him? How long had he been staring at him? “What can I get you?”

“Medium latte, please!” 

Axel nodded blindly at him as he took in every word. He had to get a hold of himself. He was at _work_. Roxas would be meeting him later at XIII and they could cheer Xion on together. It was the least he could do for her after the previous night. He would have plenty of time to stare at him later. He turned away from him after a moment and smiled over his shoulder as he made his coffee.

“Thanks. Oh, and if you’re not busy, can I show you some photos before I print them? I have to make sure they’re perfect.”

“...Sure thing. Lay it on me.” He cursed himself for agreeing. He was at _work_ , and he didn’t need any further distractions.

Roxas turned his camera towards him and showed him several pictures. Each of them were of himself with a girl around his age. She had long, blonde hair and wore a thick coat and a blue scarf. It was snowing around them.

“I like the second one. The one where you’re smiling at her and she looks like she’s laughing at one of your jokes.” Would he smile at him like that? Or was that reserved exclusively for the girl in the pictures?

“Thanks, for the coffee and the help. I’ll see you later, I promised I’d have breakfast in this fancy place with my parents.” Roxas shrugged and walked towards the door. Axel wished that he could stay there, give him someone to talk to while there weren’t any customers that needed serving. The bell rung again as the door closed behind him.

He watched him leave with a smile and a sigh. During this summer, he supposed there were benefits to the job he was stuck in. Roxas had walked out of the building rather than drive away. He must live nearby, so he would show up more often.

“Axel? We have work to do.” Aqua tapped on the table to wake him up. She had her hands on her hips. “So... new friend?”

Axel stared at her as though he had seen a pig fly past her. “...Yeah. I’m going to see him later. Since when did you care about my personal life? I thought you didn’t like me or something.”

She raised an eyebrow. “No, I’m just keeping things mostly professional. I only asked because you were staring at him with that dumb, love-struck look on your face. You’re lucky we didn’t have a line.” Aqua turned around to leave but stopped. “Hey, can you organise the food in the back for me?”

“Sure.” The back of the small cafè was mostly used for storage, filled with large refrigerators for their ingredients. This somewhat banal task of throwing out whatever was out of date gave him more chances to think about his encounter with Roxas. There wasn’t much to think about, Axel thought, but there was plenty to imagine. His face was flushed at some of the other scenes that were running through his head. At least the refrigerator job gave him a chance to cool off before he saw Roxas again.

* * *

“What are you, a journalist?” A stranger pointed at the camera around Roxas’s neck. He held it close to him. The camera was expensive and he couldn’t afford to buy another. The photos that were held in it, including his trip to Europe, were priceless.

The live performance had not yet started at XIII when Roxas had made his way inside. He had started to search for Axel before the much taller man had practically cornered him. Sometimes he cursed his lack of a growth spurt when he was younger.

“No, I’m a photographer.” Compared to the other man he sounded like a child. He didn’t belong in places like these. On the other hand, it was where Axel had agreed to meet him again and where he would see Xion perform. Those were both good enough reasons to stay. “–I wouldn’t take any pictures without asking first, promise.” He added and raised his hands.

A hand held onto his shoulder. “Don’t worry about him. Xigbar’s just like that sometimes.” Axel told him, grinning. He then turned to Xigbar. To Roxas, he looked rather intimidating, with his spiked leather jacket and the sneer on his lips. “He’s with me.”

“Cool off! I wasn’t trying to threaten him or anythin’.” Xigbar went over to a table of other men and sat down with them. Roxas smiled; it had sounded like Xigbar was the one that needed to cool off. Axel took his hand off of his shoulder and led him to another table. 

Roxas rested his head on his hand. “How do you know that guy? Do you come here often?” Part of him wondered if he should have asked the second question when he had first met him. No, it was too obvious of a pick-up line. “You just... know your way around this place.” He responded to Axel’s raised eyebrow.

Axel raised his glass and took a sip. It was already half empty. “...Yeah, we go way back. I used to come here a lot, now I’m just here to keep Xion out of trouble. Here’s kind of drowning in trouble, y’know?” He placed the glass down on the table with a small thud. 

“Speaking of- where is Xion?”

“Getting ready, I’d guess. Her backing music is done, so she’s probably coming up in the next few minutes. Want a drink?”

“Let’s go and get the best seats!” Roxas grabbed Axel’s hand and dragged him up, almost spilling his drink in the process. They made their way to a spot in front of the stage. Xion was almost certain to see them and know that they were there to support him. “We should get shots when Xion finishes performing.”

Axel laughed as though he knew something that he didn’t know. “Sure. Hey, she’s starting now.”

Now Roxas was up close, he could see how much Xion had changed in the year since they had last seen each other. Her hair was cropped short rather than in a neat bob as he remembered her. She wore a short black dress, less tight-fitting than the one she had worn the previous night. It looked more like something that she would own herself than something that she borrowed.

The man behind her – the musician – started to strum an acoustic guitar. Xion’s voice rung out through the building, soft and sweet as she sung a gentle melody. After hearing her, Roxas couldn’t believe that he had never heard Xion sing before that moment. There was no wonder that she had a career as a singer. He closed his eyes and just listened to her sing.

Axel seemed to know the song. He hummed quietly along to it. Roxas could hear it too, in the background to Xion’s voice. When his eyes fluttered open again, he noticed that Axel was looking at him far more than he was watching Xion. It was like a repeat of earlier in the day. He blinked at him, unable to keep a smile from appearing on his face as he turned his attention back to Xion and the music.

Another man stood by the side of the stage, out of view from most of the audience. He was dressed neatly, in a black suit and tie, and gazed up at the stage. At the end of the performance, after Xion had soaked up the applause, he gestured to her to come down and meet him. His unwavering stare made Roxas shiver. “...Who is that?” He asked Axel. The stranger was talking to Xion.

“Him? That’s the boss.” Axel leaned over and murmured to him. He seemed to be pricklier when Roxas had pointed out how the owner of the bar was acting around Xion. “Xemnas. He’s probably telling her whether she’s got the job.” 

Axel paused and grinned when he saw Xion getting off of the stage. He stood up to meet her; she was flushed and smiling brightly. She ran over to Axel and let him spin her around in his arms. “You were great! If you really want to go for this... Xemnas couldn’t have said no to a performance like that.”

When Axel let her down, Xion’s eyes landed squarely on Roxas. “H-hey, Roxas... I thought you were in Europe.” Her voice was shaking. “And I never thought I’d see you here!” Xion wrapped her arms around him too, squealing. “Did you see me up there!?”

“I didn’t know you could sing. If anyone knew, Sora would’ve been begging you to join his band in high school.” Roxas grinned at her in an attempt to echo her enthusiasm. His twin had attempted to start a band, with himself as the lead singer. Roxas had played guitar. They had struggled to gain members or fans until Sora effortlessly moved on to a different project.

Xion glanced down at her feet for a moment. “It was high school.” She turned to Axel with a smile. “Axel, this is Roxas,” She put her arm around Roxas’s shoulders, “My best friend from school.”

“Actually–“ Roxas pointed out before Axel could open his mouth. “We’ve already met. Last night.”

Axel’s eyes focused on anywhere but Xion’s face. Xion looked from Roxas to Axel as though she was tying up loose strings in her head. “So _he’s_ the guy...?” She removed her arm from Roxas and stepped back. Roxas couldn’t understand why she was so crushed by the thought of he and Axel knowing each other.

“You got me. He’s the guy I met with last night. I already apologised for not picking you up, but in case you were too drunk to hear me yesterday, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.” Axel rubbed the back of his neck and glanced to Roxas. It was rather clear that this was a conversation that he would rather have in private.

Roxas cut in. “I have my car parked out front... if you need someone to take you back just call me. You still have my number, right?” Roxas still had Xion’s number saved, complete with a picture of the two of them together during their last summer. Had Xion kept the summer hat she had bought that day on the beach?

Xion nodded. “Thanks, Roxas. Don’t worry, I forgive you for distracting my roommate. It’s not like you knew.” Roxas felt the room grow warmer. As far as he had known, he hadn’t been ‘distracting’ anyone.

The guitarist from the stage had weaved his way through the crowd to meet Xion. Roxas noticed Axel cross his arms when he tapped Xion on the shoulder. It was a harmless gesture, to get her attention. He didn’t get what all of the fuss was about.

“So... What’s the news?” The musician noticed the others, his eyes lingering on Axel, and his smile dropped. “Was it that bad? Did the boss fire you? Extend probation? Come on, tell me! Do they already know?”

“...I’m hired!” She said as though she had been unable to contain it any more. Axel’s annoyed expression melted away as Xion rushed into his arms again. Xion stepped back and motioned to the musician. “Roxas, meet Demyx. Demyx, Roxas.”

“That’s it, celebratory shots on the way! And it’s nice to meet you, Roxas.” Demyx shook his hand. “So you’re–“

“–An old friend.” When he looked at Xion it seemed like it had been longer than a year. He couldn’t remember a time when Xion had seemed so vibrant. She had been many things, but ‘life of the party’ or ‘frequenter of shady bars’ had never been one of them. For this summer, at least, he would be able to get to know her all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

Axel stretched out on the sofa, one arm draped over its side. His phone was buzzing with missed calls and messages on the floor. He groaned, assuming that it was the café asking him to come into work. He swallowed a couple of headache pills and picked it up. It buzzed in his hand – another call.

“...Hello? Who’s this? If it’s work, I’m not scheduled to come in and I’m not doing extras–“

The voice on the other end made him smile tiredly at his phone. “It’s Roxas. You gave me your number last night, and I wanted to know if you and Xion managed to get home okay?” Roxas sounded like a wreck.

They had all been drinking the previous night, and Axel had taken Roxas’s car to drive him home. It had been the most sensible option. He’d been hanging off of him the previous night, he recalled, and they had all come out of XIII laughing. The idea made his face heat up. He had to remind himself to stop acting like a teenager.

Axel stretched out. “Yeah, we’re fine. Xion’s still sleeping... I just woke up.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you up! Thanks for last night, though... It was you that bought most of the drinks and brought me home afterwards.” His laugh echoed down the phone. Even in his own house, the connection on Axel’s phone was terrible. “...I’m not doing this again... For a while.”

“I’m with you... Actually, it was Demyx that bought the shots.” Axel murmured. His head wasn’t thumping as much as Roxas’s; he could hear his groans on the other end of the call. “...You don’t sound too good. If you need any, I can come over with pills and hangover cures.”

Roxas sighed, then his voice immediately grew panicked. “No– it’s fine. I’ll be fine... You don’t have to come over. I’m at home... I have no idea how my parents would react to some twenty-something stranger coming over to rescue their son from a hangover.” 

He spoke softly to avoid making Roxas’s inevitable headache any worse. “You sure? I could just leave it on the doorstep and go.” Axel suggested. If Roxas was worried about Axel meeting his parents, then he would do everything to avoid them. It was a worry that he shared; if what he had heard about Xion’s dad was any indication, Roxas’s worry may be more justified than it had sounded like across the phone.

“...Fine. Text me when you’re outside and I’ll pick it up. Y’know, if I can manage to get out of bed to meet you.” Roxas ended the call.

He heard Xion open the door to her bedroom. She rested her arms on the sofa and glanced over his shoulder at his phone. “What’cha doing?” She had avoided two hangovers in a row that night. “...I thought you’d given up on Tinder?”

“Grindr.”

“Looking for someone?” Her chirpy tone made him tense up. Xion already knew the answer. Axel had given up on dating apps months ago, after a few dates had stood him up. He didn’t necessarily _need_ a partner anyway – he had Xion and a way to pay the bills. Not that he had ever been seeking anything long-term.

“No.” It was unlikely that Roxas had any dating apps anyway. Why was he even trying to find him, when the person behind him could give him any information that he could possibly need? “...Not anymore. Can I ask you a question... About Roxas?” Axel turned off his phone and let it slide onto the floor.

“If you wanted to ask him a question, you could’ve done it last night. What is it?” Xion sat down on the arm of the sofa.

Axel took a deep breath. “Look, this is a very dumb question to ask, don’t judge me, but... is Roxas with anyone right now? Yesterday he showed me some photos of him with a cute girl in Europe, and I guess I just got the idea that they might be an item.”

“I don’t know, I only saw him last night and the topic of his love life didn’t come up.” She shrugged. An unhelpful answer. “But if your question was ‘is Roxas straight’–“

Axel hadn’t wanted to be so blunt with it, but that was the essence of the question. He had an interest in getting to know Roxas better and he needed to know where his boundaries were. He had disregarded that on the first night they had spent in each other’s company, whisking him away on a tour of his part of the city. A decision that had somehow turned out well but he didn’t want to repeat.

“...I would ask you if you were kidding. Look! We went to our first pride together.” Xion took out her phone and showed Axel a picture. It was of Roxas and Xion as high schoolers. They both wore rainbow face paint across their cheeks and Xion had a pink, purple and blue pride flag in her hand. The same flag was pinned to her bedroom wall, albeit in a larger form.

He froze for a moment and mentally berated himself for thinking so much of Roxas showing him a picture with a girl. Then he stood up and rushed to his room without a second thought. Xion stared at him while he frantically tried to look presentable, tying his untameable hair back.

“What’s the rush for?”

Axel paused mid-step and attempted to find a reason for being in a rush. “...Roxas needs to borrow my headache meds. I’m going to his place to drop them off.” He shook the bottle of pills before he tossed them into a bag. “He sounded like he could use them this morning. I should go before he changes his mind about letting me show up.”

* * *

“Axel, why would he–“ She was unable to finish her question. Axel had already left. She sighed and wondered if Axel had thought any of his plan through. If Roxas was as hungover as he thought, she doubted that he would even crawl downstairs to meet Axel at his door. Many nights of not knowing their limits had taught her that.

A stone hit her window. Then another, and another. It could have been one of the exes of a downstairs or upstairs neighbour missing said exes’ window and hitting theirs instead. She didn’t regret asking Axel to install stronger glass. Xion cautiously moved closer to the window and glanced down at the offending person.

She opened the window slightly to amplify her voice. “What are you doing here?!” Below her was Demyx, grinning widely. He tossed another stone and caught it again. “Why didn’t you text me instead of trying to break my window?!”

“...You know I don’t have your number, right? _You_ were supposed to contact _me_ first.” Demyx crossed his arms as though what he had said made him correct. “Come down here!”

Reluctant, she pulled on a t-shirt, jeans and heavy boots. Xion also took a leather jacket for good measure and took the many flights of stairs down to meet him. She was less than impressed, staring him down with a raised eyebrow. There were better ways to get her attention than potentially damaging her apartment.

“You have the job now, so it’s not just the shows that are taking up your time. There’s rehearsals, practice, y’know... Jam sessions!” Demyx attempted to explain. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s your fault for not giving me your number. How else am I going to get your attention? Until a few minutes ago, Axel was stalking around and would rip my head off.”

Xion had to stand on the tips of her toes to avoid looking up at him. “And I wouldn’t? For almost damaging my apartment?” She stepped closer to him, then thought better of it when she noticed the cocky grin still plastered onto his face. “I’d slap you, but I have to keep on working with you... No wonder Axel looks like he wants to punch you half the time.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m a dumbass. If you don’t want to practice, can we just get it over with? Then you can go back home and do whatever you want before tonight. Sound good, songbird?”

“...Just call me Xion. Where are we practicing? You have your guitar with you, so–“

Her observation seemed to dent his composure. His acoustic guitar was strapped to his back. Demyx scuffed his worn shoes against the pavement. “Ah, that. That was... plan A...” He admitted. “We could go to your place, but I didn’t think you’d be into that.”

“It’s only a few flights of stairs. I don’t have a mic or anything, though... So we’ll just have to work with my voice and your guitar as they are.” Xion glanced back at him when she opened the door to the apartment building. “Are you coming?” She asked, prompting him to follow her. Her mind kept coming back to wondering what ‘plan A’ had been and whether it was better or worse than what Demyx had eventually stuck with.

“Why let me into your place if you won’t even give me your number? It sounds like a leap, that’s all.”

“...Better here than that van.” Xion muttered as she opened the door to the apartment. It was reasonably clean and she only expected Demyx to be practicing with her on the sofa. There weren’t many other options; she shivered at the concept of Demyx being in her bedroom. What way would he take that? She didn’t know him well enough to tell.

“Take that back! The van is fine– you haven’t even seen the inside!” Demyx insisted. He took the guitar off of his back and out of its case. “Next session is in the van to prove my point. Oh, and there’s a new song that you probably need to learn for later. We should do that today. What do you think?”

Xion took a seat on the sofa while Demyx sat on the floor. His fingers were long and oddly delicate, she noticed, as he tuned the guitar. Suited for the string instruments he said that he specialised in, or the piano. “Sure. Can you show it to me before we play it?”

“I can’t carry a tune to save my life, but I have the song saved on my phone. Here.” He handed her an earbud. While she listened to the soothing guitar music that began the song, Demyx sat down next to her. She could initally tell from the compression of the sofa. It’s size meant that they couldn’t sit next to each other without their legs or shoulders touching and the chord attaching the earbuds wasn’t long enough for she and Demyx to avoid contact. Instead of complaining, she chose to focus on the song. Her entire body was tense, frozen in place. Xion felt Demyx drum his fingers against her leg along with the beat. A strange sensation but not entirely unwelcome. At least one of them was relaxed.

After the song finished, Xion pulled up the lyrics on her own phone. “I can’t learn this in one day... It’s a beautiful song, but...” She started to say until Demyx put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not for tonight. If it was, someone would have been trying to get you fired or somethin’. Which they aren’t. So... don’t worry about it! We can play the song in the background while we try to put something together?”

He strummed the first few notes on the guitar and repeated them before launching into the song’s backing music. After a few more notes, Xion started to hum along. It was a start. Demyx had proved to be a better instructor than she had thought. “How about trying with the lyrics this time?”

“Sure.” Despite her words, she couldn’t feel any less sure. Practicing songs alone, with maybe Axel and infuriated neighbours to listen, was far different to doing the same with Demyx. He gave her the encouragement she needed to hear but she didn’t feel as relaxed as she would have if she had been alone. He was in _her_ apartment. She couldn’t tell if the feeling would have gone away if he hadn’t made his presence known in the way he had, or if he didn’t insist on being so close to her.

Demyx begun to play again. His hummed version of the vocals acted as a guide to Xion. Her voice was uncertain and stumbled over lyrics when she didn’t know the rhythm. She took it upon herself to finish the attempt and curled up a little.

Demyx strummed the final chord and gazed over at her. “For someone who’s only listened to it once, you did great! Amazing, even. Hey... If there’s anything wrong, apart from the whole window thing, you’d tell me, right? You look... on edge.”

“Can we listen to it again?”

Xion didn’t have to wait for a verbal answer. He picked up his phone and handed her the earbud again. She glanced over at him while the song played, watching his expressions. Somehow Demyx managed to remain calm in a stranger’s home while she could barely do the same in her own. He had closed his eyes to listen to the song but opened them again after a minute.

“Don’t look at me–“ For a moment Demyx froze like a deer in headlights. It could have been a figment of her imagination, since when she blinked he had reclined back against the sofa again, as relaxed as always. “Close your eyes, focus on the music. Relax, you don’t have to be so... stiff.”

She followed his instructions. The song was soft, adapted from an old folk song. It didn’t sound like something that she would expect to hear sung in front of patrons at XIII. But she knew very little about the place compared to Demyx, let alone who decided on what songs to sing. Her head had found its way to rest on Demyx’s shoulder while he kept tapping his fingers against her leg. Xion was almost certain that he wasn’t doing it by accident.

She took his hand when he tried to move it, after the final notes of the song had played. “...One more time. We can try to do it along with the music?” Xion didn’t bother to move until Demyx had to reach down to get his guitar. He gently tapped his own shoulder. She averted her eyes from him at the thought that he had noticed her leaning on him, liked it even.

“Okay, have it your way.” Demyx hummed as his phone started to play the song again. He strummed out the instrumental. Xion placed her hands in her lap while she waited for the vocal cue.

Then she started to sing along, more confident than the last time. Her voice still stumbled over some of the lyrics but the sight of Demyx looking at her didn’t unnerve her as much as their previous try. Instead, she smiled at him before continuing to sing. The smile remained on her face until the song was over again.

“...See, it’s better when you’re in the zone. Like last night– you started off kinda nervous, then you brought the house down!” Demyx started to place his guitar back in it’s velvet-lined case. “Thanks for letting us practice here. I know it’s just convenience and all, but... the last songbird wouldn’t let me anywhere near her. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

There was something to be said for keeping the personal and professional miles apart from each other. Xion had to remind herself that there was nothing personal about the situation, except that they were practicing in her apartment. Demyx’s inability to recognise personal space didn’t factor into it at all, and neither did her own. Their ‘jam session’, as he had referred to it as earlier, had been entirely professional.

“Why? Is there something I need to know about?” Xion stepped in front of the door before Demyx had a chance to leave. “...If there is, I need to know. We’re co-workers now, officially, so there needs to be honesty between us.”

“I’d only just gotten in as a musician and she didn’t like me too much. Thought that I was holdin’ her back, or– or something. Or there was something going on in her personal life that she didn’t want anyone else figuring out. I... never really knew which it was.” He shrugged. “I want to be friends with my band-mate, is that so hard?”

Xion took a moment to process what he had told her. When he spoke about the former singer, the one that had supposedly been paid to go on tour and leave XIII behind, Demyx sounded downcast, heartbroken even. “...No, it’s not hard. When did I say we can’t be friends? I don’t think I said that. When did I say that?”

“Between not letting me contact you and how tense you were today, I guessed you didn’t like me all that much.”

“I didn’t stop you from–“ She then recalled her refusal to let him know that she had added his number, or to contact him at all and never give her own number. Xion rubbed her arm. “Oh. Right. I... really enjoyed today, though! Ignore how I was earlier, I just got nervous about–“ She glanced at her feet and struggled to find a reasonable answer. A professional answer; ‘being close to you’ was not one. “Nothing.”

A smile crossed his face when she said that she had enjoyed their practice session. “...Was I a good pillow, earlier?” He added. In retaliation, Xion took an actual pillow and launched it at him. It hit him square in the chest. “Hey! Watch the guitar!”

She stared at him for a moment. What was she doing? “...I’ll see you tonight.” Xion took the pillow from his hand before he had been able to launch a counter-attack. She offered him a friendly smile despite her reddened face. The expression alone must have been good enough for Demyx; he returned the smile with the same cocky grin as he had entered with and closed the door to the apartment behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Home was as warm and inviting as it always had been to him. It hadn’t changed at all in the year since Roxas had left home. The same pictures hung on the walls, of Roxas and his brothers - his twin, Sora, and his two older brothers, Ventus and Vanitas. Sora was still traveling with Kairi. He didn’t know where his older brothers were except that they had graduated college a while ago and Vanitas had gone on to university. Ventus tended to come home for family reunions more often than not but Vanitas was usually absent.

Roxas’s parents were fussing over him as though he had been gone for a decade, not a year. He was sat on the stairs in front of the door, still in his pyjamas, with a large, fluffy robe around him. He should still be in bed, as his mother kept telling him. His head was pounding and he felt like he had a slight fever, with dark bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep. No wonder Axel had insisted on coming in person; he had sounded like crap on the phone.

At the sound of a knock at the door, Roxas immediately stood up and rushed over to open it. His parents weren’t expecting any mail or visitors, so it had to have been Axel. He opened the door and saw Axel standing there, rubbing at the back of his neck, with a bag of supplies in his hand. His hair was tied up as neatly as his hair could realistically get. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans - casual, yet presentable. A weak smile crossed his face at the idea of Axel making an effort just to see him.

“Hey... You okay? I mean, you don’t look okay, you look like shit, but you know what I mean.” Axel said. He placed the bag of medicine on his doorstep. “Headache pills and all the hangover cures I could find. I’m surprised you didn’t have any here.”

Roxas took the bag and opened it. Along with the various cures for his self-afflicted condition was a bar of chocolate and a packet of photograph paper. “I’ll be alright, thanks to you. How did you know I needed paper to print my pictures? I was going to give you the ones I took of you on the rooftop, but I ran out.” 

“...I guess you mentioned printing them and I wanted to get you a little something to make you feel better. Maybe printing out those pretty photos of yours would take your mind off of everything else?” He crossed his arms. His focus wasn’t on Roxas’s face, but rather on the space behind him. 

“You mean ‘my body screaming at me for crossing my limits’?” Roxas grinned up at him and held onto his arms. His grip dragged Axel inside the house. “Y’know what would take my mind off of everything?”

Axel looked from side to side at the well-decorated hallway and stepped back. At Roxas’s question, he tilted his head to one side. The expression made him look like a confused puppy. “What?”

Roxas tugged him back into the house. He was sure that he looked like a pitiful sight to him, with his pale face and the soft robe that swamped over his body. “Company that doesn’t treat me like I’m diseased. It’s a hangover, not the flu. And being in the house isn’t going to kill you... My parents are out shopping. You could help me print those photos if you’d like.”

“Are you sure? On the phone, you didn’t sound like you wanted me anywhere near your place... and your parents won’t be gone forever. I don’t want them to think that I’m some creepy guy hanging around their kid.” Judging from his attempt to ‘clean himself up’, the matter of his parents was what Axel was most concerned about. 

“Please? I’ll bring them around- maybe they’ll be happy to know I have friends other than my own twin.” He insisted. Before high school, he had been attached to Sora and refused to go anywhere without him. It wasn’t until he had met Xion that he had branched out and made more friends, even if most of those friends were initially Sora’s. He had made a few friends while in Europe, like Namine, but she was too far away for her parents to meet. His words were nothing but an excuse and he knew it. He wanted someone around to cheer him up and Axel was right in front of him.

Axel looked at him, uncertain, until he broke down and nodded. “Okay, sure. I’ll stay, but not for long.”

As soon as Axel gave his answer, Roxas brightened up and took him upstairs to his bedroom. It hadn’t changed since he had left it, on his last day of high school. The same band posters covered the walls and the same battered game consoles were attached to the TV in the corner of the room. It was obvious from first glance that the room was shared; it was almost split in two, with Sora’s comics still on the bookshelf and his bed still intact. Above Roxas’s bed was a cork board, filled with photographs of his friends and family. He watched Axel sit on the bed and gaze at the pictures.

“They need to be replaced with new ones... Nothing in this room has changed since I left it a year ago.” Roxas told him. “I could pin up a few of us... They’d look good up there.”

His musings made Axel turn to stare at him. “If you want to. I like that you have all of those memories up there...” There sounded like there was something left unsaid, a question. Did Axel not think that he was worthy of being there? They had only met a matter of days ago. Of course he would feel that way.

“I want to remember this summer like I remembered the summer after high school.” There were many photos from the previous summer on the board; captured memories of days spent with Xion, Kairi and Sora. One of his favourites was a picture of the four of them on the coast, with ice creams in their hands and smiles on their faces. It had been taken by a tourist, if Roxas remembered the day correctly. “And you’re a big part of that... Well, if you plan on sticking around.”

It might have been his headache obscuring his vision, but he thought he saw Axel’s face grow crimson. Roxas laid down on the bed. “I’m going to college after this... finally going to make my parents proud. I want to remember the days before I’m swamped with studying, I guess.”

“Which college?”

He hadn’t expected Axel to take such an interest. “...I applied to a few, but I haven’t got anything back yet. I hope I get into one of the local ones, so I’m not starting over in a completely new place.” Roxas sat up and took himself over to the printer to connect his camera to it. “If I get in, I’ll still be able to see you and Xion.”

“So it’s not just for the summer. Us... hanging out, getting to know each other?” Axel spoke up, watching the photographs print out onto the fresh paper that he had gifted him. “That’s a relief.”

Roxas was going to ask why it would be a relief for him. Even if he managed to get into a college that was further away, they could still connect online, or write letters like he and Naminé did. He doubted that Axel was the type to write hand-written letters, though. One of the first photographs that printed was one of him and Naminé.

“Axel, it’s the one you chose at the cafè!” Roxas showed it to him.

He took it from his hand and admired it. “...She’s a very lucky girl. Where was this taken? I’m guessing you two still keep in touch?” Axel looked up from the photo but didn’t meet his eyes. “Sorry, that was more than a little invasive.”

“In France. Her name’s Naminé, we’re pen pals. It was for some programme we did in school, and when I wanted to travel in Europe in my gap year, she let me stay with her for a while.” Roxas printed out a few more pictures, mostly of European scenery and architecture. Naminé featured in a few of those as well. “We’re not dating, if that’s what you’re trying to ask. I wouldn’t be able to handle something that long-distance, and, well... y’know... I’m not too into girls.” He shrugged it off as though telling Axel that was no big deal.

“You just looked close in the photos, that’s all.”

The sound of the printer made him flinch. His head didn’t react well to the noise – it was a less effective distraction than he had thought. The photographs had printed out well, though, including the ones that he had taken on the rooftop. Roxas handed one of them to Axel. It was one that he had taken of him when he wasn’t looking, of Axel staring up at the clear sky.

“Huh. The sky really was as amazing as I remember that night.” Axel said, mostly to himself. “You should probably take those pills and rest... I don’t expect you to show up at XIII tonight, in your state.” He told Roxas. Axel reached over to him and placed a gentle hand on his forehead. “You’re burning up. Are you sure it’s just a hangover?”

“I’m fine, really...!” Roxas protested. The sensation of Axel’s comparatively cool skin on his forehead made him close his eyes for a moment. It made him realise just how tired he was and put the situation into perspective. He was sat on the floor of his bedroom, with a man on his bed, dressed in only his pyjamas and a robe that acted more as a blanket. He realised that he had more reasons than potential sickness to have a higher temperature than usual.

Axel patted the bed. “I know you don’t want people worrying about you and all, but you don’t look so great. I can go if you want to get some rest now, or I can stay. Your choice.”

Roxas reluctantly sat down. He rested against Axel and resisted the urge to lay down next to him. He didn’t want Axel to leave; he had needed the company of a friend. A pang of guilt hit him at the thought of missing Xion’s performance that night. “You can stay here. I still need the company.”

Axel put his arm around him. Roxas glanced up at him and silently shifted so that he sat in front of him and leant against his chest. Roxas could feel Axel’s heart thumping in his ear but unlike the other sounds in the room it didn’t make him wince in pain.

“I’ll take the pills now. Just... don’t go anywhere. You’re making me feel better already.” He rummaged in the bag until he found the headache pills and took them with a glass of water he had nearby. Then he rested his head against his chest again and closed his eyes. He had seen Axel stare at him, in disbelief and odd silence, but he didn’t move or push him away. 

He heard a voice from downstairs, calling his name. His eyes had barely been rested for a minute before he was interrupted. Axel’s body was stiff against him. He turned around to face him and reluctantly sat up. Now that he had managed to get comfortable, his own body ached to get back into bed. “Ugh... I’ll handle it...” He muttered. “Stay here, don’t make a sound.” He placed a finger over Axel’s lips, who grinned at him. “I’ll be right back.” Roxas added before Axel could say anything.

The situation had sounded like he was hiding him in his room for reasons other than Axel not wanting to meet his parents. He crept downstairs and watched his mother carry bags of groceries inside. She was a short woman, with his dirty blonde hair and smile lines across her face. She hugged him as soon as she noticed him, her arms squeezing him as tightly as possible. 

“Too tight-” He protested. Should he ask Axel to leave through the window? The rooftops of his neighbour’s homes weren’t as stable as those that he had walked across with Axel that night. If they tried, the neighbours would be complaining on their doorstep immediately.

“Feeling better already? When I left, you couldn’t even get out of bed.” She released him from her grip and placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Roxas was burning up and he knew it, although not likely because of his hangover. His mother frowned when she noticed. “I need to take your temperature... You should still be in bed! I bought some medicine for you–“

“...Mom, about that–“ He began, but fumbled over how he was supposed to explain Axel. As far as his mother knew, he hadn’t seen anyone in the city for a year, let alone had time to make any new friends. “I actually managed to find some meds earlier, so you didn’t need to buy more. This should be gone by tomorrow.”

His mother kissed him on the cheek and crossed her arms. “I hope so! Go on, back to bed!”

Roxas glanced upwards to see Axel hovering at the top of the stairs. He guessed that he didn’t want to stay while his parents were around. It was a good call, the option that involved less sneaking around, yet he still felt a sinking feeling in his chest at the thought of him leaving so soon. He smiled weakly at his mother and attempted to keep her distracted. “Actually, isn’t there a movie on? I can rest just as easily downstairs and we can watch something. I missed movie nights with you, dad and Sora, while I was gone.”

“The TV is awful at this time of day, but there should be something we can watch. I’d suggest popcorn, but I don’t know if you’re well enough for that–“ His mother rambled on while she made her way to the living room. Roxas was too focused on a Axel to make sense of what she was saying.

“What are you doing?! Get out now while she’s distracted!” Roxas hissed under his breath. His arm frantically motioned to the door. Axel was halfway down the staircase when Roxas’s mother looked around the corner. “...I’m coming!” He called to her.

She stepped back out into the hall with crossed arms. “You should’ve told me that you had a guest! I don’t know about having someone here while you’re sick, but–“ Roxas took a moment to wonder how she had figured out that Axel was there until he remembered that his friend didn’t exactly blend in.

“I brought him some meds and wanted to cheer him up, that’s all. I was just about to go.” Axel admitted. “I’m Axel. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs...?”

His mother stared blankly at Axel, taking him in. Axel didn’t look the same age as Roxas by any means but she seemed to be more concerned by the tattoo on his neck than anything else about him. “It’s good to know Roxas has a friend here! You can stay if you’d like, for the movie?” Her reaction to him made Roxas wish that she had been mad.

“I’d love to, but I have to go.” Axel insisted, as polite as he possibly could be. He opened up the front door and turned back to wave at Roxas. “Get better soon, and maybe call me later.”

* * *

It had been over an hour since Demyx had left. Xion couldn’t take her eyes off of her phone. She looked through her contacts, saw Demyx’s number there, then closed them again. Her lock screen was a picture of herself and Axel with a cute filter she had found. It had been a photo with Roxas, before she had come back to the city, but it had been difficult to keep staring at the face of an old friend while the blissful joy on their faces had seemed so far in the past.

It started vibrating in her hand. The image that appeared was the same picture of Roxas. He hadn’t changed much since the last summer they had spent together, she thought. No need to update the picture.

“Hey Roxas. What’s up?”

The voice on the other end sounded weak and dismayed. “I can’t make it to your performance tonight. I’m sorry– last night did a number on me. Don’t worry, I’m feeling better, I just... don’t think showing up again is a good idea.”

“You’ll see more performances, it’s my job now.” Xion pointed out. She had to admit that she had taken plenty of opportunities to repeat that phrase in her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t come over. Axel is still with you, right? Or on his way back? He hasn’t come back yet. If he doesn’t show up soon, I’ll have to go to XIII without him.”

“Axel? Oh, right, he just left. He seemed really nervous about my parents... He left as soon as he had a chance to meet my mom, even though she liked him!” She could hear Roxas’s pitch grow higher. The mere mention of Axel must have hit a nerve somehow. “We’re not together or anything– he didn’t need to just leave like that...! At least he gave me something to get out of bed for...”

His denial of the obvious made Xion giggle. It felt like they were in high school again. “I know you’re not.” There was something going on between them, judging from Axel’s reckless devotion to someone he had met days ago and Roxas’s disasterous attempts at flirting. “I told him some things about my dad, so maybe he based his idea of your parents off of that?”

“Xion... Does your dad even know you’re back? I mean– you’re staying in an apartment, with someone you didn’t know before, in a different part of town.”

His question had come out of the blue to her. She pulled her phone closer to her ear, despite no one else being in the apartment, and tucked her knees up to her chest. “...No. And he’s not going to know, either. As far as he’s concerned, I’m still at college halfway across the country. Even if you see him on the street or something, don’t say a word about me.” Xion heard Axel’s footsteps on the stairs that led up to their floor. “He’d be so embarrassed...”

“I won’t say anything. I– I’m sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t like people bringing him up.” Roxas’s words offered only the bare minimum in terms of comfort. A lot had changed in the year since they had known each other. In some ways, Roxas had known Xion better than she had known herself. “–You’re just as amazing as you’ve always been!” 

“Thanks, Roxas. I’ll let you rest now... I have a show to put on soon.” Her sign-off was as hollow as his comfort had sounded. She still ended the call without waiting for a reply.

The door to the apartment creaked open and light shone in. Axel took a single look at her and sat down beside her. “What’s wrong?” He asked. The initial swing in his steps when he had come inside suggested that he’d had a good time with Roxas, regardless of his apparently abrupt exit. Xion couldn’t ruin his mood.

“It’s nothing. Just... thinking about my dad.” She shrugged, dismissive of his concern. “How about telling me how it went with Roxas? He told me that you managed to stop him from being catatonic all day, so... you must have done something right.”

Xion didn’t think that she had seen Axel look so embarrassed before. Her friend tended to be one of the most relaxed, unshaken people she knew, yet a single mention of Roxas had managed to turn him a bright shade of red. She rested her arms on the side of the sofa. “So?” She repeated.

“It’s nothing to talk about. I just brought him the pills and helped him print out some photos, that’s all.“ Axel paced around in front of her while he spoke. He showed her a newly-printed image of himself, sitting on a rooftop while he stared up at the starriest sky Xion had ever seen. “He gave me this one. He took it when we met. Talented, isn’t he?

Xion recalled the night that he and Roxas had met being the same night that Axel had abandoned her in the bar; her first performance. She didn’t blame Roxas for it, though. He hadn’t known that it was her first time singing at XIII. She couldn’t blame him for getting swept up by Axel’s enthusiasm that night, either. “It’s beautiful... Roxas actually took that? I knew he was good at this, but...”

“That’s all him. He took it without me knowing.” He sounded as proud of Roxas as Xion felt. At least one of them had their life on track. “I should call him... He looked like hell but said he’s getting better... He had a fever, though...”

She looked up from the photograph and handed it back to Axel. “With you there? I don’t think that was a fever.” She teased. As far as she knew, Roxas only had a hangover, not the flu. Judging by how Axel was acting and how flustered Roxas had sounded on the phone, there was something going on between the two. “He’s fine. He’s survived worse hangovers than this, and he’ll feel better by tomorrow.”

Axel ruffled her hair and untied his own, laughing at her comment as though it couldn’t possibly be true. Xion could get used to seeing him dressed up like that, but she could see that it didn’t make him entirely comfortable to do so much to impress others. She knew that how he dressed wouldn’t matter to Roxas; his efforts had been entirely to make Roxas’s parents accept his presence around their son.

It dawned on her that any future partners of her own wouldn’t need to make the effort. Her father hadn’t contacted her since the day that she had left for college. That day had been the only time he had ever looked at her with pride. Xion glanced at her phone again. If she contacted him, it was inevitable that she would come clean to him as a college dropout. It was better to preserve the pride on his face as the last time she saw him, let him believe that she was everything he had wanted her to be.

Instead of calling her father, Xion typed out a message to Demyx. _‘Now you can contact me without causing damage. Hope you’re ready for tonight!’_ She saved his contact in her phone simply as ‘musician’.

To her surprise, her phone buzzed with an immediate reply. She doubted that he had anything better to do than talk to her. _‘Will you ever let that go? I said I’m sorry! Jeez’_

_‘No chance.’_ Xion added a smiley face to the text for good measure. Her lips twitched into a smile as she recalled the time that she had spent with him. Demyx wasn’t a bad person to be around after all. She saw Axel observing her from across the room until he stepped into another room to take a call. Roxas, she presumed. Xion had considered telling Axel about her day, but she elected not to ruin his mood.


	7. Chapter 7

Demyx’s foot tapped incessantly on the wooden boards of the stage. A harsh spotlight shone in the centre and a reasonable number of patrons and guests were gathered below. Their show was meant to start soon, so where was their songbird? He hadn’t seen Xion arrive yet, although he had received her message to tell him that she was on her way.

“...Stop it! That noise is driving me mad.” Saïx hissed from nearby. The co-owner of the bar had been more prickly than usual that day. The boss was nowhere to be seen – the silent treatment was the most common aftermath of a disagreement between the two. A lover’s spat, Demyx would have called it. Saying so aloud would get him fired in a heartbeat, though, so he reigned in his impulse to further torment Saïx.

“...Okay, okay, got it.” He dismissively said. A loud noise signalled the closing of the back door and Saïx’s departure from the back of the stage. Demyx’s foot started tapping again as he glanced at his watch and then at his phone. “Fuck it, I’ll call her.” He muttered. The phone ringed once, twice, three times before Xion picked up. “Hey– When are you going to show? We’re on in half an hour– Where are you?!” It was difficult to restrain both his delight that she had answered and his annoyance that she wasn't there yet.

Hearing her voice on the other end was a relief. “I’ve just gotten here, I’ll be ready to go on soon!” Demyx remembered that Xion had never heard him sound truly nervous, or lose his cool around her. She sounded panicked and out of breath as though she had been running to get there on time. Technically, Xion _was_ on time. The show hadn’t started yet; she wouldn’t face any consequences for not being early. But with Saïx in the mood that he was in, he would probably chastise her for it.

He started to tune up his guitar for the night. Part of him missed the long nights when the band of XIII was still a band, and they played all night until their fingers tired. There had been a singer with them then too, but the singers only sung a few songs per night. Xemnas had supposedly insisted upon having a band to make the bar more vintage and authentic. Now a speaker, playing a calming instrumental, played overhead. Most assumed that the change was the fault of Saïx and the other members of the band leaving XIII to look for better things. Xemnas didn’t change his mind easily, even on the most benign subjects.

Footsteps signalled that Xion had arrived onstage. That night she wore a short black dress and a jewel-encrusted belt, although he doubted that it was real. In between performances and practices, Demyx wondered if Xion had spent any of the tips she had received. Someone would show her how to spend it sooner or later. Luxury, or the appearance of luxury, was part of XIII’s brand. Those that the guests saw directly – waiters and waitresses, bartenders and the singer – had to play into that image.

Despite the simplicity of the outfit, he found his eyes wandering over her while she adjusted the microphone to her height. The dress was clearly something from her own wardrobe, rather than one of Larxene’s reluctant handouts. It fit her smaller frame like a glove but it wasn’t tight enough to over-emphasise certain areas. For some in the audience, he noted, that would be a turn-off compared to the more revealing outfits that songbirds tended to wear. Xion looked like a luxury of her own regardless.

“Uhm, Demyx? Mind helping me with this?” Xion called him over. The closed curtains hid her inexperience and nervousness from her audience. The audience was there for Xion; Demyx remained in the background to provide support, musically and otherwise.

He assisted her with the microphone stand and smiled at her when he was done. His mind brought up images of their practice session earlier in the day. Their first session had ended abruptly, as soon as Xion had been relaxed enough to joke around with him like they were good friends or be physically close to him. She and Demyx were friends, or Demyx liked to think so. Maybe Xion was shy; he had shown up to her apartment uninvited and hadn’t given her as much space as he perhaps should have. There was still so much that Demyx didn’t know about her.

Demyx glanced at his watch. “Showtime!” He told Xion, who looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a nod before the curtain opened.

Unlike his new partner, he knew the songs for each night by heart. His fingers knew the chords and notes to play, often without looking. It wasn’t talent, only mere memorisation. It was Xion that encapsulated talent to him. She had only started to learn the songs a few days before. He hummed softly along to the song at a volume that only Xion could hear, to keep her on track if the words or the timing of the song failed her. Demyx soon stopped when Xion proved that she didn’t need it.

The song was soon over. Performances tended to end as soon as they started once Demyx learned how to play without having to focus. Lately, his focus had been in a different place. In front of him, rather than the instrument in his hands. Xion gratefully accepted the applause and those that had gathered to see the performance dispersed to tables at the other end of the bar.

“What’s next for you tonight?” Demyx asked while he placed his guitar back in it’s velvet-lined case. He had seen Axel in the crowd. Xion’s roommate hadn’t been front-and-centre as he usually was, though. Had the two of them fought again, or was something else keeping Axel distracted?

Xion was sat on the steps at the edge of the stage. Guests approached her with compliments and tips, the perks of being centre-stage. Her gaze was set on Axel, though, who was having an engaging conversation on his phone. Demyx hadn’t seen Axel smile like that in a while. Xion looked up at him. “Oh, I’m just going home. It’s not in my contract to stay all night, is it?”

“What about another song? Sing at my table, I’ll pay you extra.” A well-dressed guest handed her what looked like enough money to pay a month’s bills, with some to spare. He was an older man, a regular, a gambler. A friend of Xemnas, if Demyx was to guess. If he was anything else he would have been removed years ago. His table, always tucked away in a remote corner, was a miniature casino.

Xion shifted away from him. The guest’s tone suggested that he wanted more than only an extra song from her. Songbirds were a creature to be admired, but not approached or touched. “I’ll be back tomorrow night! I- I don’t give private performances.” She attempted to smile and look as though she didn’t mind the strange attention that she was recieving.

“Oh? Anything I can do to convince you otherwise?” 

Demyx doubted that anything he or Xion could do would deter him. He glared at him as he finished packing up his equipment. His guitar case in hand, he approached Xion and stood next to her, a hand outstretched to help her up. She gratefully took it. Her eyes were wide, almost fearful. He hadn’t realised that it had shaken her as much as her face had betrayed.

“Knock it off, Luxord... She’s right, it’s policy.” He insisted. Whether or not that was true he couldn’t remember; he didn’t have a mind for fine print. “Nothin’ personal, it’s just the contract.”

Luxord scowled but said nothing. He handed Xion a playing card with something typed on the back. His phone number, most likely. “Just throw it away.” Demyx whispered while Luxord stalked back to his table and greeted the guests he would later swindle out of their money with a wide grin.

“Contract?” Saïx approached them. The heels on his shoes produced a clicking sound as he walked. He must’ve heard the entire conversation from the wings; how Saïx could have observed and done nothing was absurd to him. The co-owner of XIII set his eyes on Xion and ignored Demyx entirely. “You haven’t signed any contracts yet. Come with me.”

Xion searched the tables for Axel. Demyx followed her gaze and found Xion’s friend still on the phone. Perhaps she needed to know that Axel was still there, after the last time, or wanted to tell him where she was going before she had to leave with Saïx. Upon finding him, Xion looked up at Demyx instead, then quickly averted her eyes.

“...Too close?” His question recieved no reply.

Xion followed Saïx to the rooms upstairs. Saïx and Xemnas had an office there, as well as a spare room or two that they rented out from time to time. Demyx had seen Saïx living in one of the spare rooms once, during a particularly brutal argument with Xemnas. A few days later, he had left again, with gifts in his arms and a golden band on his finger.

In the short time that he had known her, it was unusual for Xion to be so unnerved. Had he not done enough when Luxord had been pressuring her? He had done more for her than Axel had, and he had arrived there with Xion for the purpose of protecting her from people like Luxord. Or perhaps she was just shaken, and it was nothing to do with him and everything to do with the people that the bar allowed in.

* * *

Saïx’s appearance after the stranger that had been bothering her had stepped aside had seemed ominous, like something out of a movie. Xion met Axel’s eyes as she dutifully followed Saïx upstairs. She thought that she heard Axel question where she was going but the music from the speakers and the voices of the guests were too loud to hear him clearly. Xion quickened her pace to catch up to Saïx, who had already begun to climb the staircase.

The rooms located upstairs were painted white and furnished plainly. It was refined rather than run-down. A few of the rooms had beds in them, with a wardrobe and a bedside table. Xion wondered if any of them had guests or tenants currently living in them. If they didn’t, then why had Demyx chosen to live in the beaten-up old van that was parked below them?

A sigh from Saïx alerted her to the fact that she was wasting his time. “The office is this way.” Xion stopped peeking inside each and every room and stepped inside the smallest of the four, which had been remodelled into an office.

“Where’s Xemnas?” Xion noticed from the plaque on the door and on the desk that the office didn’t belong to Saïx. She hadn’t seen the owner himself all day. From what she had observed over the past few days of working there, Xemnas tended to mingle with a group of guests that he was friendly with or remain in the background to keep an eye on things. Part of her was glad that Xemnas wasn’t there. Although Saïx was colder than Xemnas, Xemnas was more intimidating.

“...Cooling his heels. It’s none of your business.” Saïx took a seat at the desk and placed a piece of paper in front of Xion. “This is the contract, you’ll be bound to it until you leave. It sets out pay, performance hours and other duties. Once you’ve read it, sign here.” He tapped a dotted line at the end of the document with a pen, which he then handed to her.

The pay was better than the hourly rate at her previous job – a temporary position at the canteen in the college she had attended. Between pay checks she would have the benefit of unofficial ‘tips’ from patrons. It was enough to do more than keep the lights on. Xion’s hours were simple; daily performances, slightly longer at the end of the week. In her mind, the only negative to signing was the likelihood of further encounters with guests like the stranger that had asked for a private show. She had been lucky that he had backed off so easily.

Xion signed her name where Saïx had instructed. As soon as she had, he took the contract and filed it away. The binder that held the document was thin; did they have a separate file for everyone? “You can leave now.” Saïx muttered as he sat down again and leafed through a different file. She left without a word. Given that Saïx was in a frostier mood than normal, she tried to avoid making a sound, although the floorboards creaked under her feet.

Axel awaited her by the stairway. He had finally stopped his phone call with Roxas; Xion had noticed his phone ringing as she had ran off to get ready for that night’s performance. If it hadn’t been for Luxord’s odd offer, she wouldn’t have cared one bit about Axel being on the phone to Roxas for the whole night.

“Now I officially, _officially_ work here.” She told him. There was a bright grin on her face yet she knew that she would have to deal with strange guests in a more confident way next time one approached her. It was only because of Demyx that Luxord had left her alone. Or had it been Saïx’s appearance? Xion shook the thoughts out of her mind. “So, ready to get home? On the way you can tell me how that phone call went.”

Axel laughed. “Why are you so interested? You don’t give a shit about any of the other people I talk to until they show up at the apartment.” The crowds of customers were thinning out as Xion and Axel made their way outside. Most of those that remained were gathered around the tables in groups.

This wasn’t the first time that Axel had been interested in someone. Sometimes, Xion would wake up to a stranger helping themselves to cereal or trying to be silent as they snuck out of the door. The only time that Axel would make an effort to cook a fry-up breakfast was when he had someone else over. That was the main benefit of Axel trying to obtain a somewhat stable romantic relationship.

“If you’ve forgotten, he’s my best friend.” Xion pointed out, although she wasn’t sure whether she should have said ‘was’. She had known Roxas in high school, but if she was so different now, how could she expect Roxas to remain exactly the same?

Axel shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “If you have to know, we’re going out tomorrow. Just for coffee, it’s nothing special...” He shrugged. “He said that he had more photos to show me.”

Xion failed to recall the last time that Axel had been on anything that resembled a date. Maybe Roxas would be different to the other strangers that had vanished as soon as they had appeared. “Not at the café you work at, right...?” She teased.

He looked away from her and sighed. “Look, I’m working all week and it’s close to Roxas’s. Stop staring at me like that! I need someone to hang out with during my break, or Aqua will drive me crazy.” Axel attempted to justify what Xion saw as a strange decision for a date.

“...For what it’s worth, Roxas won’t care. If he likes you, then he’ll use any excuse possible to be around you.” Xion told him after a few minutes of walking in strained silence. “I’d tell you how I know that, but he wouldn’t appreciate me telling you about his first crush.”

Roxas’s first crush had been a taller boy, with hair of spun silver that he kept messily trimmed at shoulder-length. They had shared classes together but he had never been the talkative type. That was one of the reasons why Roxas had never approached him about his feelings. The other reason being that the only classmate that could ever get Riku to engage in anything more than small-talk was Roxas’s twin, Sora. The closeness between the aloof boy and Sora had allowed Roxas a chance to get closer to him, albeit never close enough for Roxas to consider telling him how he felt. 

“It's not a date! I would’ve made more effort if it was. It’s just coffee.” Axel shrugged. His repetition of his earlier phrase bothered Xion. Had her joking comment accidentally made Axel overthink his casual meeting with Roxas? “We’ve only known each other for a few days, I don’t want to scare him off with a candlelit dinner or anything.”

“I know, I know.” They approached their building soon enough. It was rather late at night and a few of the residents below them were asleep, so they kept quiet as they ascended the stairs towards their apartment. Xion lowered her voice to a murmur. “When you were on the phone, earlier, you... sounded really happy. I can’t remember the last time I saw you like that.” She opened the door to their apartment.

Axel took a moment before he entered. His face was flushed as it had been for most of their short walk. Xion turned and smiled at him as if she didn’t notice how his face looked to her. “Really? I’d like to think I’m happy most of the time.” He told her.

When she had watched him talk with Roxas, it had been a different kind of happiness that had lit up Axel’s eyes and made his smile seem even brighter. Xion hadn’t wanted to jump to conclusions about his relationship to her high school best friend but it was almost obvious. “...Even if it _is_ nothing to do with Roxas, it’s good to see you like this.” Xion added in a softer tone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas’s outfit in this chapter was inspired by art by @elder_lemon (twitter) / @elder-lemon (tumblr), send them some love!

A phone call awoke her that night. The bright light of the screen lit up the bedroom and covered it in a sickly glow. Xion groaned and let it continue to ring and vibrate until it eventually stopped. She turned over and read the name of the contact; ‘Musician’. Did Demyx think that she didn’t sleep? Her eyes urged to close – she hadn’t quite adjusted to her new, nocturnal working schedule yet.

She typed up a message to Demyx rather than calling him back. He seemed like the type of person to call or text her until she gave up and answered or turned her phone off. ‘Can this wait until later?’

Xion only had to wait minutes before she received a reply. ‘Kinda. Is it wrong to ask if you’re okay?’

The phone started to ring – Demyx again. Xion answered immediately. “...What is it...? What do you mean ‘ask if I’m okay’?” It took an effort to lower her volume. Axel was sleeping in the other room and he was grumpy if he was woken up. “Demyx, I–“

“–Earlier, with Luxord, you were pretty creeped out. He _was_ a creep, and I wanted to know if, well, you were doing okay...” Demyx’s voice didn’t sound as drained as hers. “...I can tell Xemnas he was bothering you. Who knows, maybe he’ll actually kick him out for good.”

It had been almost impossible to avert her thoughts from how the stranger had approached her, treated her as though she had to follow his every command. Xion felt herself freeze each time her mind wandered to it. “I’m fine... I forgot to say thanks, for standing up to him...”

“–I think it was Saïx that really scared him off. I mean, look at us! We’re not exactly a threat, are we?” Demyx laughed to himself. His attempts to avoid accepting Xion’s thanks were transparent to her. “That was probably too much for you, and it’s not right of me to laugh about it now. You’re not regretting being part of our team, though... are you?”

There were moments when Xion wondered why she had chosen to take up the offer that had been given to her a few weeks before. Her recent experience with a customer that didn’t know how boundaries worked was one of those moments. She was nineteen, almost twenty – some would consider that far too young to even step foot in a bar, let alone work at one. But she had still signed the contract, knowing that.

“I’m not going to leave, if that’s what you’re thinking. I like this job, so far... it’s better than what I would’ve been doing otherwise.”

Demyx had been so welcoming to her, even though the other employees of XIII hadn’t taken much of an interest in making her feel as though she was part of the team. Larxene was snappy and Saïx avoided her when he could. Xion hadn’t had enough time to introduce herself to the others, like the tall, pink-haired waiter that she often saw around the building. That had given her the feeling that the ‘team’ that Demyx had referred to was a duo instead.

“That’s a relief. I was almost starting to get used to having you around... I needed more friends in that place, work was getting kind of stale without people I can actually talk with. Xemnas and Saïx control my pay, Larxene is a bitch, and–“

Xion could easily picture Demyx reclined on a bed or sofa, his eyes gazing upwards towards the ceiling of the van as he rambled on about their various co-workers. She managed to catch a few names – Marluxia, Lexaeus and Xaldin. It was uncanny how _warm_ the idea of Demyx wanting her around made her feel. The sensation brought her back to their first practice session and how close they had been to each other. This was what she had wanted, to be welcomed and accepted on her own merits, but she hadn’t expected it to feel like her temperature had risen. The two of them were friends and co-workers, nothing else, and it was likely less messy if it remained that way.

“Xi? You’ve gone quiet.” Demyx asked. He pronounced his shortened version of her name ‘shi’ as it was supposed to be said. It was a tiny, insignificant thing although it still made her smile. “Still here, or did I bore you back to sleep?”

Her eyes had flickered shut while he had been talking and her eyelids were too heavy to reopen them. “No, not yet...” Xion said lightly. Sleeplessness weighed on her voice as much as her eyes. “I think I’m going to go now, though... When’s practice?”

“Well, uh...” His response suggested that he hadn’t expected Xion to ask about their unofficial practice sessions. Xion could only view them as unofficial rather than something that Xemnas had made Demyx do; there was nothing professional about throwing stones at a band member’s window. “I hadn’t planned anything until later in the week, but if you show up at my place during the day, we can have an impromptu jam session!”

“...You mean the van?” Xion yawned through the grin on her face. “Okay... I’ll see you sometime soon, then. Night.” She didn’t hear what Demyx said before she ended the call and turned off her phone. Sleep took her effortlessly after she stopped listening to the sound of her own rapid heartbeat in her chest.

* * *

The café was oddly busy the following morning. Older couples and families with children were their usual customers, with the occasional group of young teens only there for a milkshake or some ice cream. Perhaps the perfect summer weather had drawn them in, or more accurately the sweltering heat.

The small café wasn’t the only business with air conditioning but it was the only business that had Aqua as it’s manager. Axel and Aqua had been the only people that worked at the café for a few months. Initially, one of Aqua’s friends had joined them. Terra had managed to have a different job lined up, construction or something alike, and had quit after a few weeks. If only Xion had taken the opportunity to fill in the vacant position – Axel thought that anything would be better than only having Aqua to keep him company.

Axel took a glance at the large clock on the wall. Soon it would be his break and he would have a chance to see Roxas. It had been organised so that Roxas could show him some new photographs, or so he had told him. Xion’s words from the previous night made him wonder how much of that was an excuse to see him again. Each time the bell rung to signal a new customer’s arrival Axel watched for the appearance of dirty blonde hair.

“Your order will be here in a second.” He told another customer after they had ordered. The orders reflected the weather; ice cream, cold drinks, sometimes salads. He was glad that he didn’t have to cook often despite the influx of customers.

Aqua poked her head around the corner from the back. She tended to handle the cooking and the paperwork. “Busy today, huh?” She placed a hand on her hip and wiped her forehead with a paper towel. “Go on, take a break. At least a busy day means you get something done.”

“Hey–!” Axel turned around to face her but he noticed Roxas close the door behind him. He wore a yellow-and-blue tank top with blue shorts, as though he was planning a trip to the beach. The beach would have been a better date idea, on a day like this. The colours were far brighter than anything he owned but Roxas was somehow able to pull it off. “–Hey, Roxas!” His tone came across shakier than intended.

“If you need to grab anything, I’ll just take a seat over here. I can wait.” Roxas sat down in the corner of the café, away from the other customers. Axel removed himself from the counter – it was hot enough for his arm to get stuck from leaning on it – and went over to meet him with a hastily-made sandwich as his lunch.

“You don’t have to wait.” Axel insisted. Roxas looked at him with amusement glittering in his eyes. There was something about him that gave Axel the idea that he knew just how nervous this scenario made him. It was nothing like the spontaneous ways that they had met up before. “Oh, and ignore the blue-haired lady behind the counter staring at me like I’m something on her shoe. She’s my manager.” He leaned back in his chair.

Roxas was still taking in the bright scenery of the café. “I still can’t believe you work here... you look like you’d fit in better at that bar Xion works at. Maybe you should swap jobs!”

He chuckled and pretended as though Roxas hadn’t hit close to the truth. “Yeah, I wish! I almost told her to work here myself, but I think she sees enough of me already. And she’s happy at XIII for now, so there’s no changing her mind.” His time at XIII hadn’t been the worst years of his life, he had to admit. The people and the place itself left a sour taste in his mouth now, though.

“That’s Xion, all right.” Roxas smiled at him. His gaze had zoned in on the ice cream that was displayed in a glass case in the counter and the cupcakes “How did you end up working here, anyway? Since you do, though... any chance of a free cupcake?” His eyes begged Axel for the sweet treats. 

“I needed somewhere to work, and this was one of the only places hiring. Not my first choice.” Axel answered offhandedly, attempting to ignore Roxas’s puppy-dog eyes. “I’m not supposed to give out free shit, but... what flavour? I could always get you a scoop of ice cream instead.” It was far too hot to think of anything other than a cool, sweet ice cream. 

Roxas looked upwards at the menu that listed an array of cupcakes. “Vanilla and chocolate? I don’t really like ice cream. Don’t ask why, I don’t know either. It’s kind of funny, I like everything else about summer and the beach except ice cream.” He grinned. “I’d love to be at the beach right now... We should go to the coast sometime.”

“Do you mean you, me and Xion? She works nights, so it’s just me that has to get a day off-”

He was cut short by Roxas. “No, just the two of us. We could go surfing, head to the arcades, y’know, beach stuff. I meant what I said about wanting to spend more time with you, and you want to get out of work.” Roxas suggested Axel skipping work as though he was only skipping a class in school, rather than risking getting fired. “I only have this summer, and that’s one of the best ways to spend it. What do you think?”

It was such a simple decision for Axel to make, as a supposedly responsible person. It should be such a simple decision. He had a stable job now, albeit not a job that he liked with people that he liked, and he had rent and bills to pay like anyone else. To vanish with Roxas now, even for an afternoon, would be tantamount to telling Aqua that he had quit. His manager disliked him enough already to fire him on the spot. But Roxas wouldn’t be around forever, whether or not he was accepted into one of the colleges in the city. His constant presence in his life was only able to last until the summer ended. Like so many other things that were beautiful and exhilarating but temporary, he had to experience it before it was gone.

Axel thought it over in silence as he bought the cupcake for Roxas. If he were to abandon his shift he didn’t want to add insult to injury by stealing Aqua’s lovingly-baked goods too. He slipped the money onto the counter and gave Aqua a smile. The quizzical look she gave him in return made him doubt that he had managed to make the expression look sincere.

“One vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing! Now, what about those photos you wanted to show me?” He asked when he returned to the table. That was what Roxas had invited himself to coffee for, wasn’t it? The longer Axel spent with him, the more convinced he was that ‘meeting for coffee’ and ‘showing him photographs’ was a kind of front.

Roxas’s grin faltered for a moment. “Oh, yeah, those! I almost forgot to bring them, and some didn’t print out right, but they’re from a couple days ago.” He fumbled around in his bag before spreading out a handful of printed photographs on the table. Axel noticed one of Xion singing onstage and a few of him and Roxas together, pulling goofy poses with Xion and Demyx. “They’re all I have to remember that night, really. You can take some home with you.”

“They’re good. I like this one.” Axel tapped one of the photos, a picture of himself and Roxas together. It looked as though they had been attempting to take a selfie with a professional camera rather than a phone. Roxas was perched on Axel’s lap and both were grinning up at the camera. Axel felt his face redden the longer he stared at the picture. “I should show Xion the ones of her– I know she’ll like them.”

“I did say you could bring some home. So... your place, to get some stuff, then the beach?” Roxas’s sweet smile was sickly when paired with his honey-thick tone. He knew that Axel had been dancing around the question he had asked. “We can take more once we’re there.”

Axel took one last, lingering look at Aqua and approached the counter. “I’m going to take the rest of my break outside, it’s too hot to breathe in here!” He called. The bell rung behind him as he closed the door. He had left too quickly to hear Aqua’s reply.

A second ring told him that Roxas was behind him before he saw him. “I’ve never been to your apartment. Will Xion be home?” He asked, keeping pace with him while he bit into his cupcake. “Mmm... this is good.”

Something about their little meeting suggested to Axel that neither of them would taste Aqua’s cupcakes for a while. He shook his head. Thoughts of what would happen after he and Roxas had parted ways would only make the present bittersweet.

“She’s not working until later. For all I know, she’s still sleeping.” That was only another roadblock in the way of he and Roxas’s escapade. Xion tended to sleep in due to her late work schedule. Between her ‘tips’ and her official pay check, Xion was earning more than he ever could. Regardless of that, she wouldn’t take him skipping work to go out with Roxas lightly. If it came to it, Axel could only hope that Roxas could sweet-talk Xion into getting off of his back. “When we get inside, don’t make a sound. Just in case.”

“Is the sneaking around... normal, for you?” Roxas said it so casually, as though it wasn’t an interrogation. Axel remained silent. Roxas had been one of Xion’s closest friends, so he wouldn’t be pleased if his answer was that he had done this before. On the other hand, Roxas had been the one to suggest leaving his stable nine-to-five behind to run off with him. Axel was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Roxas’s wide, blue eyes boring into him. “Axel?”

“...We don’t tell each other _everything_ , if that’s what you mean. Even good friends have some secrets. I stay out of what she doesn’t want me to know and she does the same for me.” Xion was more curious – and persistent – when she wanted to dig deeper, though. Usually to find more topics to tease him with. “Why?”

Roxas grinned, trying not to laugh at Axel’s furrowed brows. “Nothing, you just looked nervous when I asked about her. And in the café, too. Are you... nervous about being seen with me?” The question was asked without a whisper, or any change in his voice that would suggest insecurity.

“Not one bit! I didn’t expect to drop everything today, that’s all.” Axel started walking faster and took Roxas’s hand. The sooner they reached the apartment, the sooner he could stop his racing mind and start to enjoy his day out with Roxas. If he didn’t, then leaving his shift would have been for nothing. Their destination was in sight.

“I didn’t mention it on the phone yesterday, did I?” Roxas laughed. They opened the door to the building and felt the warm air settle around them and cling to their skin. “It was spur of the moment. I needed a bit of– change, I guess– and you looked like you did too.”

Axel pulled Roxas into the elevator before it closed. His arm rested on his back to keep him close to his chest. “Spontaneity?”

“Exactly. Like... when you took me to see the city.”

His hand shook when he stepped out of the elevator to open the door to the apartment. The idea to pull him away from work was inspired by him? Axel smiled at the thought, although he was sure that it wasn’t solely his influence that drove Roxas to his plan. The apartment was as tidy as he had left it that morning, with no signs that it had been lived in. So Xion was asleep, or had left already. That was one less thing for Axel to worry about.

Despite the simplicity of the décor, Roxas still gazed around the room and picked up a few of the trinkets on the shelves. A few were models of motorbikes, modern and vintage. There were also framed photographs, including one of Axel with a group of others from XIII - Larxene, Marluxia, Demyx and his band. That was one of the last group photos they had taken together, before Axel had left and the previous singer, a girl around his age with dark hair and a forced grin, had disappeared. 

“You could’ve taken a better photo. We coaxed Saïx into taking that one.” Axel looked over his shoulder while Roxas traced his finger over the face of his younger-looking self in the picture. He had been blissfully happy in that photo, mostly unaware of Xemnas’s shady dealings and the turmoil amongst the other staff. When he stepped into XIII after so long, he had craved those few years back. But he had left for a reason. 

Roxas giggled and turned around to face him. “...Saïx... That’s one of the owners, right? The frosty one, with the scar?”

“He was less of an ass once. Still an ass, but at least he knew what fun was.” Axel found some towels in a drawer in the bathroom and some swimming trunks stuffed in another drawer. Despite living within an hour’s drive of the coast, he hadn’t been to the beach in a while. “I can’t believe I’m doing this...” He muttered to himself. Roxas turned his head and looked guilty for a moment. 

When Axel blinked, he was smiling again. Had it been a figment of his imagination? Axel couldn’t rain on his parade with his hesitation. The blonde-haired young man had wandered into his bedroom and was stood by the bed. The bed was hardly slept in these days; crashing on the sofa was easier and often more comfortable most nights.

“Hey, Rox?” The nickname made Roxas blush. Axel grinned, a veneer of his usual confidence returning. The entire reason for this was that Roxas liked him and wanted to add some spice to his life. The way that he had behaved before wasn’t a way to thank him. He approached him, close enough to effectively press him against the side of the bed. Axel gave him a fraction of space - otherwise he would fall back against the bed, a more awkward scene than he intended. 

Roxas had seemed to revert back to the innocent expression he had kept on his face prior to his proposition of a impromptu beach date. His face was a bright shade of red. He reached up to grab onto the back of Axel’s shirt to prevent himself from falling over. His mouth was agape, stumbling over words that didn't leave his soft-looking lips. Axel had to remind himself not to focus on his lips too much. If he did, they might never get to the beach at all.

He cupped his cheek to make him gaze up at him. “I’m not embarrassed or nervous to be seen with you. I mean it-” 

Roxas’s grip on the material of his shirt loosened and he fell back against the bedcovers, his devious grin returning as he pulled Axel down with him. Axel found himself face-to-face with him, his body keeping Roxas from getting up. He was confronted with a sight that he couldn’t resist. 

“...Having second thoughts about the beach?” His hands were tangled in his hair until they rested around his neck. He could feel Roxas’s breath, slow and steady. His tank top had ridden up when he had allowed himself to fall, revealing a strip of sun-kissed skin. “It’s okay... We can always go some other time...”

“Screw the beach, and work, all of it.” Axel leaned in closer. All that he could see was Roxas. Roxas, who had been a stranger a mere week ago; Roxas, who he had dropped everything for without barely a second thought; Roxas, who had charmed him with nothing more than a look.

A part of his mind wondered how much of this was planned, if the only thing that Roxas had wanted to do was free him up from work regardless of what that took. Axel must be crazy for him, if he had left his responsibilities behind for him. His eyes flicked to Roxas’s lips. There was no chance that he was going back to face Aqua now; he should make it worth his while to stay.


	9. Chapter 9

Late-morning sunlight greeted her warmly when Xion stepped outside. It was set to be one of the hottest days on record. She smiled at the faint memory of attempting to fry eggs on the pavement outside Roxas’s house with Roxas and Sora. Now, she was sure, there would be groups of other children doing the same in streets up and down the city. Some things never changed.

Befitting the weather, she wore a simple white crop-top and denim shorts. The shirt had a star-shaped fruit printed on it, a design that she had ordered online some time ago. Xion cared little as to what the design meant – if it meant anything at all – only that it looked cute. Her shorts were far shorter than she would usually wear but it was too hot to afford sweltering in the summer heat.

Her steps had a noticeable bounce to them when she put on her headphones to brisk walk in the direction of her workplace. She knew the directions well enough by now, after her mistake on her first night. The headset was black and chunky, a cheap design compared to the smaller, wireless earbuds that she saw others wear. Perhaps she would be able to afford the fashionable kind now – if they served their purpose. Her headphones were reliable, blasting out an upbeat pop song without alerting anyone else that passed her on the street.

“Here already, Xi? You must be eager– Xion? Uh, hello?” Demyx stepped in front of her and frantically waved his arms around to catch her attention. Dazed, Xion removed her headphones to rest them around her neck.

Putting on headphones made the already short walk to XIII even shorter. “...I needed to get out today, and Axel’s at work, so I’m just here to practice.” Xion explained. Demyx’s overjoyed expression made her think that he had already known why she was there.

“There’s one _tiny_ problem with that... the van is a mess. You should go inside, meet the rest of the guys, get some coffee or something!” Demyx pushed her towards the door to the bar. The main entrance, rather than the side door that she typically snuck inside through before her performances. The musician then went back to his van, presumably to tidy up.

There were hardly any people inside the bar during the day. Compared to other places in the city, it didn’t have the best air conditioning. The only sources of cool air that Xion found with a brief sweep around the room was the open doors and a couple of ceiling fans. At the counter where Larxene served, a group of people were gathered. Xion could recognise Larxene herself, and the pink-haired waiter that Demyx had called Marluxia. They were talking like old friends, which she guessed they were.

“Uhm... Morning?” Xion greeted them. She avoided meeting Larxene’s eyes, instead trying to connect the other faces she saw to names. There were two taller, more imposing men sat with them. If Demyx had mentioned every employee in his late-night ramblings, they had to be Lexaeus and Xaldin. 

“...If you want Demyx, he’s out the front!” Larxene called, contempt lacing her voice. “I don’t care if he told you to show up...” She was clearly drunk on her own supply, slurring her speech.

Marluxia nudged her and spun his chair to face Xion. “We don’t get many people during these hours, so Larxene takes it as an extended break. I don’t think we’ve met. Not properly, at least.” When he stood up, Marluxia seemed all the more intimidating. Xion took a step back from him. Marluxia grinned at her and extended a hand. She was sure that he was the waiter she had narrowly avoided crashing into on her first day. “I don’t bite.”

Xion shook his hand. “Marluxia, right? I’m Xion.”

“How did you already know my name? The boss doesn’t make us walk around with nametags.” 

“...Demyx told me.”

“You must be quite close already, since you’re the only other member of the band. What else has he told you?”

“–Nothing, really. Just names and what you do here.” There were plenty of details to what Demyx had told her that were better not to be repeated to their faces.

Lexaeus looked her over with mild disinterest, more engaged with his beer than the newcomer. Xaldin, the dark-haired man that Demyx had described as a doorman, offered her a slight smile and tapped the seat next to him. Xion sat down and realised that she looked like a child next to both of them, even more so than when she was stood next to Demyx.

“Can I get you anything? You’re the new singer, aren’t you?”

Xion was surprised at how deep her sigh of relief was at the notion of someone that didn’t call her ‘songbird’. “Thanks, but I need to lay off of the drinks until later. It’s so... quiet in here. I’ve never seen it like this.” She gazed around the room, having never seen the bar itself in the daylight. It almost appeared like an abandoned, vintage building, with its crimson carpeted floor and a chandelier hanging in the middle of the seating area below the stage.

“We’re not exactly a lunch place. You get a few people wandering in but most people know to show up later.” Xaldin agreed and poured himself another beer, straight from the tap. “Here, take this. For later.” He handed her a bottle of water. “Stay safe. Demyx is harmless, mostly, but... be careful, kid.” 

Xion took the bottle. It had to have been taken from the refrigerators below the counter; touching it caused her to shiver regardless of how hot the room was. Water was exactly what she had needed on a hot day. She smiled shyly up at him and took a swig of the water. “I will! And... thanks.”

Her gratefulness made the grouchy-looking man next to her return her smile. Xaldin glanced behind them. “It looks like someone’s come to collect you.” He said.

When she hopped off of the stool she found herself face-to-face with Demyx. “Nice to see you making friends.” He commented, aiming the sarcasm in his tone at Larxene. Marluxia snickered. He swung an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get practice started, huh?”

Xion nodded. However unconcerned with personal space Demyx was at times, his closeness felt as though he was trying to prove a point to the others. What that point was, Xion couldn’t say. His touchy behaviour had elicited a raised eyebrow and a scowl from Xaldin and a spark in Marluxia’s eye. Larxene looked as though she was about to throw up or pass out, partially hanging onto Marluxia. The bartender must have consumed more beverages than she had sold.

The van looked older and more abandoned the closer they went to it. There were murals painted on the sides, of mermaids and dragons and spaceships. She glanced over at Demyx, who had opened the door with a squeak as she climbed up the stairs he had attached to the side of the van. The musician didn’t seem like the artistic type. She remembered just how little she knew about him. Perhaps she was wrong.

“Who painted the murals?” She tapped his shoulder to get his attention, then gestured to the paintings. The paint was chipped and faded now, worn by the weather. If they had been touched up occasionally rather than left to crack and lose their colour, they would still be as vibrant as they had been when they were first painted.

“...A friend of the band, when there was a band.” He shrugged. “When everyone decided to split, I guess I forgot to renew them. I could do it myself, but I’d do a crap job compared to them. I guess we could give it a shot sometime, if you’re up to it. Not that I’m asking... it’s my van, not yours!”

No one had told her of the people that shared the stage with Demyx before she had. Perhaps it was to avoid bringing up memories. Xion held onto one of her arms and remained quiet until Demyx stepped aside to let her into the van. It’s interior was dominated by a large, worn leather sofa. Patches of fabric were missing, which gave Xion the impression that it had been scavenged from a scrap heap or bought from a vintage market. An equally tired-looking rug was spread out on the floor. 

She could feel Demyx’s eyes on her while she stood aimlessly in the doorway. ”Mi casa es tu casa! Get comfy.” He collapsed onto the sofa and stretched his arms out over its back, grinning expectantly. It was the same cocky grin that had been plastered on his face during their previous session. More warranted, perhaps, because she was in his home rather than vice versa. “What are you looking for, a signed invitation?” He stood, took her hand and pulled her the rest of the way inside. A hand on her shoulder gently if forcefully sat her down. 

Xion didn’t resist when he moved her. His cold hands - likely from the cold cola on the coffee table beside the sofa - jolted her out of her thoughts. The idea of a second practice session had delighted her while she had been walking there to meet him. Why would she hesitate now? She found herself laughing at her own nerves. “I don’t know. Maybe we could practice for later?” She suggested, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I honestly didn’t think this through... I just wanted to get out of the house.”

“And I’m the first person you go to? Wow, thanks.” Demyx strummed a few chords on his guitar from where he sat, cross-legged on the floor. It sounded as though he had taken time to tune it before he had invited her inside. Xion couldn’t tell if his words were genuine or sarcastic. He started to play the start of one of the songs she had sung before. “Let’s start easy.”

She closed her eyes while she listened for her cue to start singing. The song was easy to pick up on, perfect for a newcomer, and her voice lost its nervousness when she sang. It felt like she had been there forever sometimes and yet it had only been a matter of days since she had first stepped into XIII. The moments that made her feel like that were the ones where she was singing. As soon as she stepped off of the stage and left Demyx’s presence, some days she had never felt more out of her depth.

“...How was that?” She spoke up after the final chords played. Demyx gave her a thumbs up and tapped on the side of the guitar. His eyes were bright, which made her less concerned about the lack of a verbal reply from her usually talkative co-worker. Xion had failed to notice their colour before; more yellow than hazel, an odd colour but seemingly natural instead of the product of tinted contacts.

Unprompted, he started to play a different tune. It was foreign to her, unrecognisable from the songs she had heard before and those she heard on the radio. Was this a new song to learn? That was the only thing that it could be, during a practice session. Xion awaited an explanation, a copy of lyrics, anything. Demyx continued playing. It was a more complicated piece than the backing music for a song would usually allow, more upbeat than those Xion had learned to sing for the bar. It was beautiful, so she sat and listened. Occasionally the musician glanced up at her, monitoring her reaction until the final notes played.

Xion stood and clapped. Demyx took a bow. “Thank you, thank you! It’s a little thing I wrote myself, to pass the time. I was going to play it for you yesterday, outside your window, but I didn’t want to scare you off–“

“So you chickened out and threw rocks at my window instead? Because, somehow, that would scare me off less?” Xion retorted, only half joking. Demyx’s initial plan to get her attention was to... serenade her? The idea almost sounded funny, or like a scene from a romantic comedy. 

Demyx’s response was to shrug and avert his eyes, chuckling to himself. “Yeah, that was a pretty dumb idea. But it worked, didn’t it?” He stretched and rested his arms behind his back. He was built like a twig but Xion could see muscle rippling when he moved his arms, so he clearly worked out. “You’re here, so I didn’t scare you too much... Right?”

“Like you said, I’m here. You’re the least threatening person I’ve met since I stepped in here. Short of pulling a knife on me right now, I don’t think you could do anything to ‘scare me off’.” Xion stretched out on the sofa and rested both of her arms on its arm. “That was just... nerves, earlier. This is all new, still...”

His eyes lingered on her when she laid down. Xion noticed Demyx hold a hand to his forehead and shake his head. He stood up and sat on the edge of the sofa, guitar still strapped around him. “Do you want me to back off ‘till you’ve got a handle on everything? I can do that. Co-workers first... friends second. Is that right, songbird?” The unnatural pause before he had said the word ‘friends’ made her raise her head and turn to face him.

“Back off... how? Honestly, you’re making me feel like I’ve been here forever. Thanks, for making an effort.” She smiled over at him. “I don’t know if I would’ve lasted this long without the support.”

Demyx leaned over as though to listen closer to what she was saying. His hand moved in between her body and the back of the sofa. “That means a lot. So... co-workers second?” He said, in a softer tone that Xion wouldn’t initially have associated with Demyx. Rather than the Demyx that she saw on stage, this was the same Demyx that had walked her home while she was crying on her first night.

“Friends first. We’re together outside of work, aren’t we? This isn’t paid time.” Xion looked him over. His position on top of the arm of the sofa was quite precarious. With the wrong movement, he could lose his balance. “Demyx, you should–“

“I should what? Take you out somewhere entirely unrelated to work to prove we’re not just working together? Name a place, we’ll go there, I can drive.” He punctuated his offer with a wink.

Xion was too concerned about how the moment would end to delve into the implications of how he was acting. She placed both of her hands on his chest and pushed Demyx away from her. “...You were going to fall off. If you wanted to sit closer, you could’ve... sat down here instead.”

Demyx blinked at her and shuffled over to sit beside her. His silence suggested that his own actions had embarrassed him, but Xion didn’t believe that to be the truth. If she hadn’t pushed him away, he would have likely ended up on top of her. The thought alone made her shift in her seat.

“One more song?”

“Who said I was leaving? I can practice all day! Or I can listen to you play, if you have any more songs.”

A loud noise from outside distracted them before Xion reached her cue. The sky outside, clear when they had entered the van, was heavy with clouds. When the rain started to fall, Demyx played a song that melded with the beat of the raindrops against the window. Xion didn’t know the words to this song either, but it was just as impressive as the last. The rain hammered against the roof until it was difficult to hear the soft acoustic guitar amongst the never ending drum of water.

Demyx sighed and threw his hands up. “Guess that’s it for now! Do you need a ride home, or are you going to stay here ‘till the storm’s over?” He asked, resting his guitar against the side of the sofa. “It’s a little dryer in here, but I guess you don’t have your clothes for tonight with you...”

She had almost forgotten about her change of clothes. Xion was anything but dressed to go out in the middle of a storm; no coat, converses that would soak up water, and nothing to keep her dry. She took one of Demyx’s, a yellow anorak that would provide better protection from the weather than nothing. The wind blew open the door as soon as she touched the handle. Xion said a rushed goodbye to Demyx and waved before she took off, running through the rain in the direction of home.

“Xi? Come on, you dumbass!”

Xion paused when Demyx called despite not being under any kind of shelter. She had managed to get out of sight of the bar; had Demyx ran to catch up with her? When he caught up with her, he was out of breath. He held an umbrella in his hand; not a smart idea in a thunderstorm, yet she still let him pull her into a hug so that she was underneath it. When he let her go, his arm was still around her shoulders.

“Why did you... just run off like that? I offered you a ride, now look at you...” His fingers weaved through her damp hair. “Come on, we’ll get you back to the van and a shower. Don’t worry about your clothes, I’m sure there’s something you could wear. Same for the show.”

“I can take care of myself.” Xion murmured as they started the short walk back. He only smiled, neither agreeing or disagreeing with her. Her shivering body kept itself close to Demyx, who had somehow managed to stay relatively dry. Nothing sounded better at that moment than a shower, and clothes that weren’t wet, and– “When we get back... Do you have any movies?”

* * *

Roxas heard the rain against the windowsill and the rumble of thunder. Even now, as an adult, the sound made him freeze up. It wasn’t the relentless rain that bothered him, but rather the sound of the sky splitting itself apart without warning. The heavy, grey storm clouds were directly above them. He spent precious minutes pondering why he hadn’t noticed the storm earlier before he rolled over to lay on his side and saw the reason why. Axel was beside him, one arm stretched out to rest on the back of his head while the other scrolled through his phone, frowning. 

“...Has she bothered to call yet? Or text?” He spoke up, voice hardly a whisper. A pang of guilt hit him when he was reminded that if Axel lost his job, then it was his fault. Regardless of whether Axel had enjoyed his job or not, it had never been Roxas’s decision whether Axel handed in his resignation. Still, he had stolen that choice for him, and for what? To touch him, to feel him, to know what it was like to be desired for a single afternoon? 

Axel dropped his phone onto the covers. “Not yet... Her hands are probably too full with customers to find time to deal with me.” He shifted to face him. Axel’s eyes softened when they met his and a smile grew on his face. “Well, there goes my first stable job in... what, three years? Never mind, I’ll find something better. Like you said, I wasn’t suited to it. I should be thanking you!” He laughed at his own joke. Roxas couldn’t find the humour in it.

An arm reached out to him. Roxas tucked his knees up to his chest and looked the other way, away from any semblance of comfort. Thunder continued to echo in his ears. He could close his eyes to avoid the flashes of lightning, but sound was not so easily ignored. When he was a child, it was his twin that had comforted him during the storm-ridden summers. Sora had let him crawl into his bed hours past their bedtime and held him close until his body forced him to sink into sleep.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“Roxas-” His name was said like it was a prayer, a promise, a precious and sacred thing. It made his body recall the sensation of his lips after his lips had left them, the gentle tug of his hands - larger than his own - when they had ran through his hair. Roxas heard him move closer. A sigh left his lips as he let him pull him close, up against his chest. “-You’re shaking.”

The warmth of Axel’s body, which would otherwise be uncomfortable given the heavy air and tousled sheets around them, unlocked the floodgates in his eyes. They filled with tears and his body started to shake as his hands curled into fists. His nails dug into his palms and left crescent-shaped indents in the pale, soft skin. Of all days, of all moments to cry and get frightened, it had to be one of the moments he had wanted to cherish. If Axel chose never to see him again after he left his apartment, this wasn’t how he had wanted to be remembered.

“Talk to me. What’s wrong? Is it something I said?” His hands moved in slow, circular motions against his back. Roxas felt like a child again, in his parents’ or brothers’ arms, weathering out the storm. Unwillingly, his breathing slowed back down. He couldn’t bear to appear so helpless; he wasn’t a child any more, and Axel was supposed to be his equal.

“...I never got over my fear of storms. Pretty pathetic, huh?” Roxas muttered and attempted to laugh at himself. The sound that came out was unnatural and forced.

Axel squeezed him gently and held him in a long embrace. Roxas’s back was pressed against him. He could imagine the two of them waking up like this, some day. Another fantasy of a future that he doubted would come to fruition.

“That’s not pathetic.”

“If you say so.” He heard a sound from the floor, where Axel’s phone had fallen. Axel grumbled and glanced towards it but refused to move. “Go on, answer it. I’ll still be here.” He teased. The pit in his chest grew deeper with each word.

There was no further movement from the man beside him. “Whoever it is, they can wait. I’d rather stay here than face whatever anyone has to say to me.” He murmured against his shoulder. “I don’t think the storm is going to let off any time soon, so... Maybe you could stay a while longer. Overnight, even.”

When he had met Axel, he had given off the impression that their paths would only cross for a short time. That once he had managed to capture his attention, he would leave as soon as he went. But the Axel that lay next to him, holding him through a storm while Roxas almost choked on his own childish fear, tarnished that image. This Axel made him regret only being free for the summer. Roxas had promised himself, and his parents, that he would focus on his new studies once the summer ended.

Roxas opened his mouth to point out that Xion was performing that night, that she would likely be expecting Axel to be there and support her. Axel had other obligations outside of him. “...No, you should answer the phone.” He reached up to peck his cheek. For a short while longer, he could live in their little fantasy.

“Fine.” As Axel turned to pick up his buzzing phone from the floor, Roxas rested his head against his chest. In this position, he felt less small yet still equally as wanted.

He finally answered the call in a disinterested voice. “Yeah, who is this? Hey, I... didn’t have your number saved. Your personal number, that is.” The voice at the other end of the phone was feminine and filled with rage. Roxas fought the urge to sink further under the covers to hide from the consequences of his actions. “Yeah, I know, I fucked up, can we cut to the point? Am I fired or not?”

Roxas was unable to hear Axel’s manager clearly, but managed to overhear her response to Axel’s question. “Look, Axel... I’ve had enough of this. You know I have. I can’t get Terra back in to help me run everything, so with you gone I’d be trying to keep the café afloat by myself. Do whatever you want. Why am I telling you that, when you’ll just go ahead and do it anyway!” The call ended abruptly.

“...Axel? Are you alright?”

Axel stared at his phone, unblinking, before he slowly put it back down. When he heard Roxas, he faced him and twitched his lips into a smile. “...Yeah, yeah, I’ll be alright. I think she was so angry with me that she forgot to tell me if I should even show up to work tomorrow.” His eyes moved in the direction of the crumpled-up, pastel polo shirt on the floor. 

“I guess I can fill in for you, if you end up getting fired. She hasn’t blacklisted me, and... it was my fault that she’s mad.” Roxas buried his head in his chest. To his relief, the thunder was quieter now; the storm must have moved further away. “She mentioned Terra- he was a friend of my brothers, so I could use it to get the job?”

“...And if I’m not fired, you working with me would get me there soon enough.” Axel absentmindedly played with his hair and winked at him. “I was distracted enough at the thought of you showing up.” If it had been anyone else saying those words, they would have come out nervous and flustered. Somehow, Axel managed to remain effortlessly cool. It gave the impression that he had done it all before. Why should that matter, Roxas thought - this would only last for the summer. 

Roxas pouted and rested both of his arms on his chest. “It’ll just be for the summer, and for me, that's... a couple weeks, if that?” As soon as it had left his mouth, he knew that he had said the wrong thing. Axel’s eyes widened, then softened again. To avoid disturbing him, he could guess. His hand remained in his hair, blonde locks already messed up from earlier. It guided him, slowly, towards him, allowing him time to back out if he didn’t want him to kiss him. 

Instead, Roxas closed the gap and kissed him hungrily, as if it was the last time that he would be able to. That wouldn’t be for a week yet, at least. The fact offered Roxas no solace. Axel pulled him closer, on top of him. Surely, Axel found no comfort in it either. The shattering of their fantasy only made them desire it more, and soon Axel was able to distract him from the rumbling and flashing of the storm outside.


	10. Chapter 10

His remote hit the floor in frustration when the TV cut out again. The screen had flickered to static for the third time. He should have expected this, given that it was over a decade old and the weather hadn’t let up yet. It was just his luck, to have it cut out when Xion had specifically asked for a movie to watch until they were due on stage. Zexion had taken his vast collection of DVDs when he had left, so that wasn’t an option that was available to him either.

Demyx watched the raindrops chase each other down the windowsill. The sounds from outside merged with the sound of running water from inside. Xion wouldn’t have dried off in time for the show, he reminded himself. Letting her use his shower was in no way an excuse to see her stripped of clothing. Even the thought of it turned his face bright red and prompted accusations of being perverse from his own mind. That was the kind of thoughts that would go through the mind of anyone who had an attractive young woman in their home, Demyx convinced himself.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and the sound of the shower stopped. “Do you have anything I can wear until the show? Or an outfit for the show? Anything will do, I don’t mind.” Xion asked from inside. Her voice indicated a shyness that he didn’t often see from the singer. It made him feel a little better about the whole situation to know that Xion was just as embarrassed as he was.

“Stay there, I’ll get something for you!” Demyx called. He would have to go outside in the storm again, but if he ran quickly enough he should be able to make it to the bar itself before he was drenched.

He ran outside and crept through the back entrance. The last singer had to have something that Xion could wear. All of her clothing had been funded by Xemnas and Saïx, for the most part, so she hadn’t been able to take her dresses with her when she had disappeared. If Demyx had to guess, what hadn’t been sold would have been stored in one of the rooms upstairs.

“...Weren’t you supposed to be entertaining the songbird?” Marluxia commented when he saw him. The waiter held a tray of cocktails in his hand. XIII was far busier in the evening regardless of the weather. The storm may have scared off some of their customers, the new and fair-weather kinds, but regulars arrived without fail.

“Show’s in a few hours. She told me to fetch something of the last one’s for her, she forgot her own.” He explained. Mentioning the previous singer around Marluxia wasn’t a sensible idea. Marluxia and Larxene had been close to her, even if he and the band hadn’t. “I was just hoping that there’s something upstairs.”

A table of customers waved to Marluxia, who put on a grin and brought their drinks over to them. With one look at the table, it looked to Demyx like it was a hen party. He could only assume that they were bar-hopping, otherwise he failed to see why someone would want to commemorate their future wedding in a place like this.

Demyx climbed the stairs to the spare rooms and Xemnas’s office. The spare rooms made the bar look more akin to a hotel, each bed neatly made and every room decorated in a minimalistic manner. There was no maid or cleaner hired at XIII – the staff that had to stay until the end of the night had to handle the often unpleasant task of cleaning.

Xemnas was in his office, as he tended to be. The owner of the bar had returned after Saïx had run the show the previous night. Demyx had some idea of what had driven him away; he couldn’t imagine being with Saïx every day without a fight. Saix was perched on top of Xemnas’s desk while he sorted through paperwork. When Demyx crept past they were engaged in discussion, for once not a heated one. 

“Score!” He punched the air when he found the wardrobe in one of the storage rooms that was filled with the previous singer’s dresses. Demyx covered his mouth; he could hear footsteps in the hall. Had Saix hopped off of the desk to investigate, or worse, Xemnas? He grabbed the first dress in his line of vision and bolted back down the stairs. His chest was heaving when he stopped and hid backstage to get a good look at the dress he had picked out. It was silver and shoulderless, with fabric that seemed to be encrusted with jewels and an intricate silver pattern that shone in the dim light. He attempted to push thoughts of how Xion would look in it aside; he would find out soon. 

The dress was in plastic packaging to keep it crease-free. It was helpful in shielding it from the rain, although holding it above his head didn’t prevent him from getting soaked on his way back to the van. He opened the door, a hand over his eyes. “I’m back! Try this on in the bathroom, I’ll wait.”

Eyes closed, he felt his way over to the sofa and flopped down onto it. He overheard Xion giggling as she took the dress from him. The pattering of her feet against the tiles of the bathroom made him blink open his eyes again. Demyx waited for her to get dressed, watching as people started to arrive in a steady stream. It seemed that the storm had started to move further away. The thunder was distant and the rain had slowed.

“Demyx! Mind helping me with this zip?”

Demyx hadn’t had the time he had wanted to search for the right dress for her, but that faded from his mind when he saw how she looked in it. The fabric slipped off of her slender shoulders without making the dress fall off – the only ill-fitting part of the outfit was that the dress was too long. That was something that the people who visited the bar couldn’t care less about. He was sure that Xion could manage walking in it for the evening. On stage, there was little moving around necessary.

“Sure.” Demyx swallowed and avoided the temptation to trace his fingers over the soft skin of her back while he slowly zipped up the dress. “Did I mention that you look amazing? You’ll have admirers all over you tonight.”

Xion turned to face him. Her recently-washed hair had a slight wave to it from letting it dry out naturally. “No. You should know, you picked it out!” She grinned. “The kind of people that frequent this place aren’t the kind of ‘admirers’ I want.”

“It was more of a... lucky accident.”

The look that Xion suggested told him that she didn’t believe him and no amount of insisting would make her think otherwise. He was almost glad that he had taken the first thing that he had seen and bolted. The result was Xion looking radiant, even in the admittedly unflattering, artificial light of the van. He imagined the way that the jewels and the silver thread would reflect the light of the moon or the spotlight. She looked amazing, of course she did, but the beginning of their show meant the end of their day together. 

* * *

The bar had started to wind down again. Regulars and newcomers alike begun to trickle out of the door. She watched on from the removable balcony built onto Demyx’s van, her arms casually draped over the scrap-metal railing. That night, much like her first, Xion had to borrow a dress. The one that she had chosen was silver and clearly expensive. It had belonged to her mysterious predecessor, she had been told. Although she was learning to recognise the faces of the regulars within the stream of people, the face that she wanted to see wasn’t present. Like her first night performing, Axel hadn’t shown up.

Xion had tried to call him, many times. The first was to see if she could convince him to drop off her outfit. He had been on a different call then. She had called again before she was due to take the stage, and again after her performance had concluded. Axel wasn’t obligated to come, she had to remind herself over and over. He had been uneasy about her decision to become involved with XIII in the first place, so he had his reasons to avoid being there.

“Still out here? What’cha going, people watching?” Demyx questioned from behind her. Xion didn’t turn around and instead waited until he had stood beside her to meet his eyes. “We get some interesting types here, don’t we?”

“Axel never said that he wasn’t going to show up tonight. I thought that he would’ve said something... I called his work, earlier, before it closed, and his manager said that she hadn’t seen him since this afternoon.” She almost found some humour in the situation. This was the second time that Demyx was trying to keep her mood up when Axel hadn’t been there. “I guess I’m worrying over nothing. I never said he had to be here.”

Demyx put an arm around her. “You’re good friends, so of course you’d be disappointed. A crap friend, if you ask me.” She thought that she saw a familiar redhead amongst those leaving, but when they stepped under a flickering streetlight they turned out to be another stranger. His eyes shared her disappointment. “So, how are you getting home tonight?”

The storm had receded a few hours ago to reveal a cloudless, starry sky. The stars were dimmed by the dull orange glow of the city, but it was beautiful nonetheless. A breeze tugged at the fabric of her dress. She would have to wash it and take it back; the clothes that she had arrived in were too damp to wear without catching a chill.

“It’s a nice night, I can walk.”

“You sure? It’s late.” He pointed out. She, like everyone else, knew the risks of roaming the streets at this time. Her outfit would make her more of a target for opportunists of all stripes. “I can give you a ride.”

Xion hadn’t seen a car parked outside the bar that looked to be owned by Demyx. The black Porsche was clearly Xemnas’s – she had seen Saïx getting in and out of it too. Most of the other cars were gone by the next night, which suggested to her that they belonged to those who visited the bar rather than it’s staff.

She moved Demyx’s arm off of her. “Thanks, for everything. I owe you... a lot, by now.” She told him. “I don’t think I can afford to owe you any more!”

“You don’t even know what I’m cashing all of it in for! Okay, I’ll tell you.” He crossed his arms and took a step closer to her. The dopey grin on his face took away from any attempt to look authoritative. “One date. Just one. You can choose the place, the day, whatever, but tell me when in case we need to book the day off.”

“...A da–“

Demyx immediately backtracked. “–ay out! A day out, just the two of us, in no way related to work. You work your ass off, and you need a break.” He led her down the steps. “No ifs, no buts, this is a Demyx-mandated break.”

Xion smiled to herself. She _had_ misheard him. Her cheeks burned red when she questioned why she may have misheard him like that. He had mentioned taking her out somewhere earlier. They were friends, why shouldn’t they meet up without the pretence of work? “I haven’t even been here a week yet. You’ve hardly _seen_ me work.” She insisted, one hand on her hip. “End of the week. Wait until then, then we can take a break.”

“I’ve seen a lot of you, actually. The last singer, she lived on-site too, and I never saw anything of her, unless we were on stage. You don’t have to be here all the time, but you still showed up.” He patted her head. Xion moved her fringe back into place immediately afterwards, the contemplation of a smile dancing on her lips. “You must’ve been a good student. Teachers probably loved you.”

If her short time in college hadn’t happened at all, Xion would have agreed with him. Her smile faded. If she had been a good student, then she would still be in college, reaching towards a dream that she had held onto since middle school. Instead of studying, she was here, in a rundown part of the city, singing at an odd bar for equally odd people. But, she noted as she looked back at Demyx, she was happy. Unlike in college, she had friends around her - Axel, Demyx and Roxas.

Instead of confirming or denying his assumption, Xion made one of her own. “...And you were a pain in the ass, right?” She held a hand up to her chin. “Hm... Not much has changed there.” Demyx huffed and poked out his tongue. Xion returned the gesture, unable to prevent herself from grinning. “A pain in the ass, but really good at guitar. And stopping me from being a dumbass and running out in the rain.”

“Aww, shucks. Thanks. So... about that ride-” Demyx rubbed the back of his neck and took her around the back of his van. The side that wasn’t seen was more dishevelled than the rest of the exterior, with rust covering the metal where it had been left untreated. Tucked away in a corner was a comparatively well-taken-care-of motorcycle. “Ready to go, Xi?”

“I’ve... never ridden one before. Won’t it ruin the dress? Xemnas would kill me... It’s so expensive...”

No matter how beautiful it looked, the borrowed dress was too long for her. Xion had to lift up the fabric to avoid getting mud over it. What if it became trapped in the wheels? She had kept the money that generous patrons had given her; there was a chance that she could afford to buy another one. There would be a delay between ordering the replacement and receiving it, though. Time enough for Xemnas to find out about the ruined dress.

While her thoughts spiralled, Demyx raised his eyebrow in disbelief. “You’ve never ridden a motorcycle? You live with Axel, and you’ve never ridden a motorcycle... That’s nuts. I’m fixing that, starting now!” He started up the motorcycle and gestured to the space beside him. “Hop on, and hold on tight!”

Xion did as she was told. It was a faster way of getting home than walking and it was clear that Demyx wouldn’t take no for an answer. She buried her head against his back and wrapped her hands tight around his waist. They started moving. The sudden burst of speed jolted her forward and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“What do you mean–?! About Axel?” She had to shout for Demyx to hear her over the sound of the engine. Axel hadn’t owned a motorcycle when she had met him and moved into his apartment. He had some memorabilia scattered around, but Xion had always payed it little attention.

Demyx laughed. “You didn’t know? He used to be big on the whole bike thing! I told you he fixed up mine when I crashed into a tree, didn’t I? I was surprised when I saw you two just walking in instead of riding! What, did he sell them? Could’ve at least sold them to me.”

Xion couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. She clung onto him until they reached her apartment building. Her head was spinning. Getting off of the bike, her steps made it appear that she was drunk. If Axel saw her in that moment, that was what he would be thinking. She worked in a bar; she thought that coming home drunk was one of the most common experiences. Was Axel even inside, or had he disappeared without a trace?

Demyx grabbed her arms. “Need me to take you in? I know Axel’s not too fond of me, but I don’t know if you can make it up those stairs. Come on, Xi, we’ll take the elevator.”

“We? I’ll be okay. It was just... a lot.”

“Open your eyes next time, alright? You haven’t seen much until you’ve ridden around the city at night.” 

He let go of her reluctantly and opened the door for her, which she stepped through gratefully. When they went inside the elevator, Xion realised just how small a space it was. The metal box could hardly fit more than two people inside, and although she and Demyx were the only two inside, it was difficult to maintain space between them. Demyx pulled her closer to his chest when one of her neighbours joined them inside. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she only knew the people who resided in the other apartments from the sound of their yelling through her walls when he smiled and waved at the disinterested woman. 

They reached her door. “Number 814... Mind just leaving me here? It’s late.” Xion tested the doorknob. The door wasn’t locked, so Axel was home. She breathed a sigh of relief. Demyx watched her expectantly, asking her what she was waiting for without words. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. The impact unintentionally knocked him against the wall. “Thanks, again, for today... Did I hurt your head?!” 

Demyx rubbed the back of his head. “Nah, I’m alright. Sleep well, Xi. See you tomorrow.” He motioned to the door with a tilt of his head. “Axel’s probably waiting for you. Either way, don’t keep your bed waiting.”

“I won’t. See you tomorrow!” Xion stretched, waved to Demyx and opened the door to her apartment. The sight that greeted her was Axel and Roxas, wrapped up in every blanket they owned, consumed by darkness. The only remaining light was that of the TV, different colours reflected onto their faces. Xion’s expression mellowed when she saw that their eyes were closed. She had planned to ask Axel how his meeting with Roxas had gone. She saw no point in asking now, even in the morning; anyone could see that it must have gone well.

It reminded her of childhood sleepovers; Roxas had tended to be the first to fall asleep. She allowed herself to linger in the doorway, to silently reminisce about countless nights spent in Roxas’s house. Usually Kairi had joined them, as well as Riku during nights spent with the intention of studying for exams. Those nights had concluded with notebooks full of word games and doodles rather than equations or significant historical dates.

Eventually, Xion slowly closed the door and crept around them to her room. It had been when she had stepped inside that she had realised how exhausted she was. Demyx might have been right about taking a break from work. 


	11. Chapter 11

Upon opening his eyes, the first thing that Roxas realised was that he was alone, sprawled out on the sofa in the same position that he had been in the night before. No arms wrapped around him, no breath tickled his neck. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, adjusting to waking up in a new place. Axel and Xion’s apartment was small yet they had still managed to make a home out of it. 

The second thing that he realised was the smell of sizzling bacon from nearby. It wafted towards him from the nearby kitchen. Roxas turned his head in the direction of the delicious scent and found the man who had been holding him so tenderly the previous night muttering curses to himself over a tray of burned bacon. Axel wore an apron that had “kiss the cook” written across it in bold, red lettering. Roxas giggled and crept over to him, his bare feet making no sound on the tiled flooring of the kitchen. He stood behind him and tapped his shoulder to press a kiss to his lips as soon as he turned around.

“It said ‘kiss the cook’.” Roxas said innocently. Axel blinked at him, in shock, while he reached over and took a slice of bacon from the tray. After he picked off the burned edges, he bit into it and hummed in appreciation. “Mmm...this is good. I didn’t know you cooked.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me! This isn’t my best batch of bacon, either. But I have eggs, sausages and toast coming up, so don’t judge my cooking based on bacon alone. I hope to redeem myself.” Axel checked on the other parts of the fry-up he was preparing. “I should’ve expected that though, hm?” He leaned down and kissed him, although he was unable to stop grinning. 

Roxas was more embarrassed about having to reach up to kiss him than the affection itself but the kiss still left him red-faced. “You wore that apron for a reason and you know it.” He sat on the edge of the sofa to watch him cook with his head rested against one hand. Axel’s hair, messy as always, was even more so that morning. The sight before him was a domestic scene, something idealistic, edited, as though it was from a photograph collection. It seemed removed from reality, almost, only the two of them and a freshly-cooked breakfast. 

A door, one that had been closed when he had arrived in the apartment, opened and Xion sleepily walked into the room. “Morning... Fry-up day?” She leaned on the kitchen counter and took a piece of bacon from under Axel’s nose. Xion bit into it without removing the burned parts. “Crispy.” She met Roxas’s eyes with a smile. “Hey! I forgot you were here. Has Axel been treating you well?”

“I mean, he was cooking for us before we woke up, so what do you think?” He reached for his camera and snapped a few quick photographs of Axel. The other man truly was a beautiful subject, dressed in only his pyjama shorts and a novelty apron, body expertly lit by the golden sunlight as he concentrated on anything but the lens of the camera. He could fill a whole scrapbook - no, an entire art gallery - with nothing but images of him.

Xion took one look at Axel and then back at Roxas with a knowing look on her face. “There’s no ‘us’. This isn’t an everyday thing.” She stretched out on the sofa, unaware or apathetic towards the visual pleasure of the scene in front of them. It wasn’t only Axel’s physique or domestic skill that fascinated him artistically, although Axel was the centrepiece. The lighting, the smoke rising from the cooking breakfast, the utter normality of it; all of it appealed to him. The fact that this was, or seemed to be, all for him made it even better. 

Roxas put his camera away. He would find time when he went home to print out the photos he had taken. Where to put them once they were printed was a conundrum, though; they seemed like they would belong on a pin up calendar. His mother wouldn’t approve of them being hung up in his childhood bedroom. “So you’re saying this is for me?”

“Go and ask him yourself.”

A plate of freshly-cooked breakfast was placed on the counter. Roxas took the plate and grinned at Axel. “What’s the special occasion, then?” Axel didn’t seem like the kind of man that rarely had someone stay over. He was friendly and sociable, it would be easy for him to find someone to spend the night with him. 

“Am I not allowed to cook breakfast for my roommate and my- date? Do I need a reason?” Axel questioned while he plated up another fry-up, presumably for Xion. His voice held hesitation when he called Roxas his ‘date’. What other word had been on the tip of his tongue? 

Although Roxas had little experience of dates - he had never been the most outgoing person, and no one had sparked his interest until he had met Axel - he was sure that what they had done the previous day didn’t amount to a ‘date’. They had spent a short time at the café and had gotten distracted by each other before they had managed to make it to the beach. He had tempted Axel away from his shift for what was essentially nothing, but from the look on Axel’s face when he had woken up that morning, it must have meant something to him.

Axel’s phone started to ring. He handed Xion’s breakfast to her and turned off the stove and grill before he picked it up. He had been preparing to be on the phone for a while, it seemed. What was Axel expecting? A possibility would have been a phone call from his manager, Aqua, after he had skipped a shift and was possibly about to get fired. She could tell him to come into work, Roxas reasoned with himself to avoid plunging into the pit of guilt that formed whenever he thought of how he could have cost Axel his job.

“...So you’re not letting me go? I mean, you were kind of vague last night, and I was being a terrible employee for sneaking off like that–“ Axel paced around the kitchen while he spoke. The voice on the other end was identifiably Aqua’s. “–Not helping my case? Got it. I get it, sometimes I make crappy decisions. See you tomorrow... Unless you change your mind!”

Xion glanced over at him, confused. “What was that about? Axel, what happened that would make Aqua almost want to fire you?” 

Roxas froze. He doubted that Axel would give up the truth of what had happened the previous day so easily, yet something told him that Xion would find out some day. She could be quite persuasive when she was determined to obtain information. He recalled suggesting that she should have gone into law or detective work rather than marine biology after she had managed to find out who had stolen her food at lunch in freshman year.

Axel huffed. “Hell if I know! You know she has it out for me.” He answered with a dismissive shrug. “If Terra hadn’t left, I would be gone already.”

“Does she? Aqua seems pretty nice to me.”

“Oh, she’d like you to think that.”

Both of the two roommates wore grins on their faces, so Roxas figured that he and Axel hadn’t been figured out, for now. Xion finished her breakfast and pulled out her phone, smiling to herself at something on the screen. Messages, perhaps, or a funny picture. Axel sighed and served up a plate of breakfast for himself while Xion closed her door behind her.

“Can we talk?“ He took Axel’s hand in his and spoke in a murmur that he hoped Xion couldn’t overhear. They had gone further than he had entirely expected to the previous day, and Axel had returned his affections earlier without a second thought. Roxas couldn’t afford to assume; he had known him for such a short time that he couldn’t discern for certain if he had been looking for a partner, a friend or a fling. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I... I want to know what’s going on with us.”

The colour that had spread over Axel’s cheeks matched the colour of his hair. Roxas’s face had heated up the moment that he had opened his mouth. “You tell me. What do _you_ want out of this, Roxas? If you had all the time in the world with me, where would you want us to be?” His voice was casual and carefree despite the weight of the conversation. His diversion made Roxas wonder if Axel wanted anything out of their relationship, if he was allowing him to chart it’s course.

“If you don’t want to go anywhere with this, that’s... fine, but I want to know.” Roxas insisted. He moved closer to him, folding his arms. “Stop trying to be smooth and tell me what you want.”

“...For you to stick around. I’ve tried being with other people, and I don’t really want to do that anymore. But...”

That single word made his heart sink. But. There was always _something_. Roxas’s mind circled through the possibilities; was he too young for him? Too immature? Had he said or done something to upset him? Was taking him out of work the final straw?

“...I think we should wait before we make anything official. You’ve got college, and we’ve only known each other for... what, a week?” He pulled him closer by the waist. A bold move, for someone who had essentially rejected him. “But whatever this is, we should make it something to remember.” He pressed their foreheads together.

Roxas took the obvious hint and kissed him. It was impossible to tell whether it was Axel that had taken his breath away or the surprise of being picked up and rested on the kitchen counter. “Should we really be doing this in the middle of the kitchen?” He teased, one hand against Axel’s face.

“Give me a good reason why not.” Axel pecked his lips again. It was only a courtesy, to give Roxas time to answer before they carried on regardless. Instead of answering, Roxas kissed him again.

* * *

Roxas had stayed with him well into the evening. The sun had started to sink below the horizon when he had looked out of the window and hurriedly started to pack away the few things that he had taken with him, which amounted to his camera and a change of clothes. Xion had spread out her hand of playing cards – they had forgotten hours ago what game they were supposed to be playing – and left to prepare for the night’s show. Axel had considered asking Roxas to go with him that night, but doubted that he would want to after his last experience with drinking at XIII.

Then Roxas’s phone had started ringing. Axel’s first guess was that it was his parents, asking where he was. Given Roxas’s previous spontaneity, it was likely that his parents hadn’t known that he was going to be gone overnight. When he had met them, they had seemed nice enough, if a little overbearing. Roxas had been lured away from the door by the person on the other end of the line.

“Thanks for not waking me up this time. I don’t have my laptop on me, so you’ll have to deal with my phone. Is Kairi with you?” Roxas chattered away to someone that Axel didn’t recognise. From the casual way he talked to him he guessed that it was one of his siblings. Axel recalled the other boy that had featured in the pictures in Roxas’s bedroom. “Hang on, I’ll put my camera on. I look like a mess, so don’t judge me.”

“Where are you? A friend’s, a roommates? Have you moved into your dorm already? Or are you just staying with someone for the night?” His questions were never-ending. Roxas rolled his eyes in response. “Roxas, who’s that?”

Axel noticed that he was in the frame of Roxas’s camera. He should have stepped out of view before Roxas’s brother noticed him, but Sora had a sharp eye. He waved to the camera, the motion stilted and awkward, before he rested his arms on the back of the sofa above Roxas’s head. “I’m Axel. Just a friend.” He introduced himself with a grin. Calling him ‘just a friend’ left a pit in his stomach.

“That’s Sora... my twin. He’s studying abroad, and has _finally_ figured out how timezones work.” Roxas’s introduction sounded stilted, although Sora’s smile and wave didn’t give the same impression. Axel could feel the heat radiating off of him. He could only hope that it wasn’t embarrassment at the thought of Sora knowing him.

“You love our nighttime-early morning calls!”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I do. But I also love not being woken up, so there’s that.”

A young woman ran up to Sora and pecked his cheek. She had straight, auburn hair, neatly chopped above her shoulders, and a silver necklace around her neck. The brown leather strap she wore suggested that she was carrying a messenger bag. If she was Sora’s girlfriend, then she was likely a student as well.

“Hi, Roxas! It’s been a while since we’ve talked, I’ve been so busy with classes and clubs and–“ Sora tapped her on the shoulder. “Right, this isn’t a voice message. I was going to send you one, but, well... Doesn’t matter. So, how is everything?”

Axel was tempted to move out of frame again, to allow Roxas and his brother to catch up. He would have nothing to say to them – meeting a partner’s family, properly, was a huge deal, and he and Roxas had agreed that they were going to slow down regarding their relationship. While Roxas was talking, he took his chance and stood up to leave.

Roxas grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to his level. “That’s Kairi. She’s Sora’s girlfriend of... what is it, five years? We’ve all known each other since we started school.”

Behind the screen, Kairi offered him a sweet smile. He wondered what she and Sora thought of him; they knew Roxas better than anyone else. Roxas had said so himself. There was a noticeable glimmer in Kairi’s eyes, although he guessed that it could as easily be the sunlight. Did she assume that there was something between them? The simplest way of knowing was to ask, but he didn’t think that Roxas would appreciate their relationship being put under a spotlight either.

“Who’s talking? Is that Sora and Kairi–?” A door creaked open and Xion stepped into view. That night, she wore a sheer, patterned cream dress and a set of jewel-studded earrings. Axel watched her old friends stare at her in utter disbelief. It was the same reaction Roxas had when he had first seen Xion performing. “I thought I’d get ready here, since it takes too much time over there. Roxas, can you drive me?”

Kairi spoke up first. “Xion? Xion, over here! Look at your _dress_...” Her eyes were wide as Xion turned to face them. She would never say it, but Axel knew that Xion was enjoying the opportunity to show off to her old friends. “It looks expensive. Going out somewhere?”

“You look completely different. What happened?” It took a moment for Sora to look sheepish when he realised what he had said. “It’s a good change! I like what you did with your hair... But wow, college has changed you.”

At the mention of college, Xion’s ecstatic smile grew strained. “Yeah, maybe a little. I’m just getting dressed up for work– I sing, at a place nearby. At least... in between signing up for my next classes... I haven’t been here for long, though, so I don’t know how it’ll work out.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

Axel saw the Xion that he had met almost a year ago. She had been crying, alone, wandering the streets after a taxi had dropped her off at the edge of the city. Xion hadn’t had anyone else, and he was alone too, after leaving XIII and handling a messy breakup. It had seemed natural at the time, to take her in and offer to help in any way he could. He had thought that meeting her old friends would make her happy, but it seemed to have done the opposite. Xion was frozen in place. He glanced over at her, concerned, but Xion shook her head as if telling him not to worry. 

“You can sing? Now I wish I’d asked you to join that band I tried to make.” Sora sighed. “...Marine bio, huh? You must be swamped!”

“...It’s summer break, we don’t need to be talking about school.” Roxas cut in. Xion gave him a thankful smile and waved goodbye to Sora and Kairi. When Sora questioned where she was going, Roxas sighed jokingly. “Work. Y’know Xion, she always needs something to keep her busy.” He chuckled. The sound was nothing like the genuine, unrestrained laughter he had heard from him before. “Come on, I want to know everything about your summer break in Europe. Have you seen Nami?”

While Sora and Kairi started to recount their summer together in it’s entirety, Axel followed Xion into the hallway. She was visibly shaking, her back against the wall. She turned her head to face him with wide eyes. Axel shrugged off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. The gesture was caring but utterly useless, he knew, since however thin the material of her dress was, there was little reason for her to be shivering in the middle of summer.

“All he did was _mention_ college, and I...” Her voice was choked yet no tears filled her eyes. Axel opened his arms and she rushed into them, holding him close and burying her head in his chest. “I shut down. That was the first time I’d talked to them since they left for college... They think I’m still there, and it has to stay that way... They’ll think I’ve turned into a mess without them...”

“You’re not a mess, and you’re one of the most hard-working people I know. Just because college wasn’t a fit, doesn’t mean your friends will think any less of you.” He attempted to comfort her, his hands rubbing gentle circles into her back. After a few moments, her breathing slowed to a regular, calmer rhythm. “So, are you waiting for Roxas or finding another ride?”

“...I’ll walk.”

“Alone?”

“Fine then. I’ll call Demyx.” A smile crossed her face to match her teasing tone. She had seen how he had reacted to her meeting Demyx on her first day. Perhaps he had overreacted to seeing him again, let alone around Xion.

Axel had known Demyx since he was a young teenager. In a way, he had watched him grow up like an older brother would, fixing things up for him and helping him out whenever he had found himself in trouble. In Demyx’s case, that had been often. He had initially assumed that Demyx was someone’s relative or younger brother, but he’d taken a job at XIII before he had been able to drink at the bar. He had left XIII a few years later, and everyone he had worked with. His time there wasn’t something that he had ever found himself missing, except for the months when he had lamented his lack of a job.

“I’ll walk with you! I’ll just have to tell Roxas and he can pick us up after.”

“...Can I keep the jacket, then?” Xion piped up. She tugged the jacket over her shoulders. Axel grumbled to himself, faking the loss of one jacket out of the hundreds that he owned, before he eventually caved.

The sound of Roxas excitedly chatting with Kairi and his brother could be heard through the walls. He glanced back at Xion; he couldn’t imagine that it was easy for her to hear them after she had left without being able to catch up. Axel opened up the door again and motioned to Roxas.

Roxas put his phone down and stretched. “I should probably stop acting like I live here and go home.” He wandered over to Axel, took him by the collar and kissed him. “I can drive you to XIII, stop for a drink, then get back and tell my parents I’m not missing or dead!”

“Oh please, mom will have more of a problem with that secret boyfriend you have over there.” Sora said. He could hear Kairi spluttering with laughter while she told Sora to stop teasing Roxas about what they had seen.

Any semblance of calmness that Roxas had immediately vanished. His face was bright red and his voice was reduced to a stammer. “He’s not– we’re not–“ He attempted to tell him.

“...And so what if I was?” Axel joked, in such a way that Sora or Roxas wouldn’t be foolish to take it as flirtatious. He wrapped an arm around Roxas’s shoulders for good measure. Roxas gave him a look that suggested that he would make up for it later before he pushed his arm off of him. If he was planning on visiting the bar with him while Xion was performing, then they would have plenty of time.

“I’m going to go now. Catch you later, and enjoy the party cruise!” He grinned at Sora and Kairi and let them say their goodbyes, although Axel noticed his finger twitching to end the call. Their faces vanished from the screen and Roxas let out a deep sigh. “I forgot how exhausting it can be to let him ramble on forever. I love him, but you can’t really get a word in edgeways with him.”

Axel stopped on his way to the door. “Party cruise? I’d love to stow away on one of those. Any way you can hook us up with some tickets? Just think about it - just the two of us, nice clothes, exploring some foreign port town...” The image alone was enough to get lost in. For him, at least, it would be nothing but another fantasy of romantic yet highly expensive situations that he would never find himself in. Not everyone was lucky enough to be with someone like Xemnas, who could easily afford whatever Saix had in mind. On the other hand, Saix and Xemnas had a rather... rocky relationship. He had done the whole ‘shows-affection-by-fighting’ relationship before and he hadn’t enjoyed it one bit. 

“Do you think I have the money for that? I’m a college student.” Roxas tossed Axel his keys. He glanced down at them and then back at Roxas. “...You almost left them on the counter. Are you going to let anyone into your apartment?” He caught up with him and held onto his hand once they were in the hallway. 

Xion would be waiting for them - she had likely gotten bored and was waiting downstairs instead. “I mean, I let you in.” He had gotten distracted by scenes that Roxas had put in his head yet again. Axel cursed himself for being so uncharacteristically forgetful. 


	12. Chapter 12

The storm from the previous night had left the sky cloudless. Stars filled the sky above them as they left the apartment building, only hidden by the bright glow of the city. The edge of the city was the best place to see the sky, away from the bustling hub of endless artificial light. A perfect opportunity for stargazing. Seeing the sky so clearly bought Xion back to nights spent camping or driving to remote spots just to catch a glimpse of the sky as it was supposed to be seen.

“I forgot to tell you... I didn’t drive here.” Roxas spoke up sheepishly after Xion wasted precious minutes searching for his car. She glared at him with folded arms but said nothing. There was a smile twitching on the edge of Axel’s lips as he tried so desperately not to laugh. 

Her aim had been to get to the bar early to make up for the lack of practice she and Demyx had done the previous day. The storm and their habit of distracting each other had led to little, if any, work being done. It was the equivalent of so-called ‘study sessions’ with her friends, which had been nothing but an excuse to go to their houses and do anything but study. On her part, their lack of productivity had been accidental - Demyx seemed exactly like the kind of person to slack off work. He had been the one to drive them off course, with original songs and talk of serenading her. That would be enough to distract anyone.

Axel shrugged and strolled ahead. “Walking it is!”

“It’s a good night for it.” Roxas agreed. 

It was a beautiful night. Unlike the previous night, Xion’s dress didn’t brush against the ground, so there was no risk of ruining the expensive fabric. The thought reminded Xion that it would cost a large amount of the extra money she had earned to clean the outfit that she had worn the night before. Taking up Demyx’s offer of a bike ride had been the fastest way home but she had returned home covered in mud and dust. She couldn’t return it to XIII in it’s current condition, so it was in a bag in her apartment ready for a trip to the dry-cleaners. 

Xion noticed Roxas running forward to catch up with Axel. Her friend grabbed her roommate’s hand. Axel glanced down at him, surprised but still smiling. She increased her own pace and pulled Axel’s jacket over her shoulders to cover her rather revealing outfit. 

“...Are you okay? I tried to stop them from talking about it, I figured you’d want to keep everything quiet–“ Roxas whispered to her when she reached his side. “You never really told me what happened... If you ever need someone to talk to about it, I’m here.”

The last thing that she ever wanted to do was talk about it. Even the thought of telling anyone about her short-lived time at one of the best colleges in the country for marine biology made her eyes prick with tears. She had thought that, over time, she had improved from what she had been that year. The mere mention of college had made her relive every moment of it. But, Xion reminded herself, she wasn’t alone any more. Her situation was nothing like what she had imagined, but she had people that she could rely on if something went wrong again.

“I know. Thanks, but... I don’t think I want to talk.” She admitted. There had been a time when she would have told Roxas everything. It felt like that had been a lifetime ago. He would listen and let her cry in his arms if she needed to, she knew it. Something held the explanation in her throat, made her reluctant to speak. She knew how Roxas had seen her – how everyone had seen her – and she couldn’t bear to shatter that image when it was all that most people she had known before college had known her for.

“I’m going to pick up the car after this, then I can drive you home.” Roxas was the only one out of the three that could drive. Axel had sold his motorbikes to buy the apartment and didn’t own a car. Xion had learned how to drive but had never been given her first car. Roxas had let her drive his whenever she needed it and she hadn’t thought of her lack of a car as abnormal until everyone in their class had reached their seventeenth birthday.

“So you’re not drinking with me tonight? If you’re driving I’ll bring something home with me–“

“I’ll take it easy. You’ve seen me hungover, and I don’t want to do that again so my parents can smother me. Tonight I want to spend time with you and listen to my best friend sing. How does that sound?” His fingers laced with Axel’s and he squeezed his hand tight. The label of ‘best friend’ still belonging to her brought a smile to her face.

There was a pause before Axel squeezed his hand in return. “Sounds great. It’s a good thing we’re here early – we can get the best seats in the house!” He quickened his pace when they reached the bar. Axel hardly stopped to say good luck to her. Xion didn’t have the heart to tell him that the best seats were reserved for those who could pay a little extra. If she had to, she would pay for their seats herself.

Their joy was infectious. When they left her to go through the back entrance alone, she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. In the back of her mind she was aware that this was a temporary boost in her mood, that it would come crashing down again as soon as the lights dimmed and the adrenaline of performing had worn off. She would have to leave soon after her time on the stage ended, to avoid letting all of the thoughts in her mind overcome her around–

“Xion! I... didn’t see you today. Good thing you took my advice, though, you–“ Demyx’s casual greeting was cut off. Xion self-consciously tugged on Axel’s jacket again and stepped closer to Demyx to tap on his shoulder. “You look good tonight. Great, even! No one will be able to keep their eyes off of you!”

“... _My_ eyes are up here.” She said, laughing at his reaction. The outfits that she wore to her shows were another aspect of the performance. It gave the aura of luxury that anyone would want in a place without much luxury to go around. “Yeah, I needed a day off. Thanks, Demyx.”

“It’s nothin’. I get to play my sitar tonight, so it makes up for not seeing you all day.” He told her that he missed her, if not in those exact words, as though it was normal for co-workers to talk to each other in that way. Xion had never been in a band before, though, and from the pictures of his old band that Demyx had framed inside his van band members were closer than ordinary co-workers. “Don’t worry! The songs haven’t changed and you don’t have to change key.”

Why had he thought that she was worried? Had her silence worried him? She hadn’t been _worried_ – a better word to describe how she felt would be embarrassed, or confused. It had only been a single day, not even a full twenty-four hours, since they had seen each other, yet Demyx had outright admitted that he had missed her presence. And worst of all, he remained unaware of it.

“I bet it was boring around here, with no people around.” Xion attempted in the shallow hope that she would sound like she was carrying on a friendly conversation. “I couldn’t imagine living alone, really. It’d get quiet all by myself.”

“Larxene managed to bag a day off, so there goes one source of daytime entertainment.” Demyx led her around the back, to the entrance that connected to the stage. Their show would start soon, and she would have to forget every irritating thought that clouded her mind. “Yeah. There’s a point where you run out of movies to watch, or conversations to have with yourself. But it’s fine, I like the space. And it makes company even better.” He took a glance at his watch and pushed Xion through the door. “Shit, we’re almost on!”

She squinted as the dim light from outside was replaced with the sharp glare of the spotlight. The rest of the bar was tastefully but faint light. Another layer to the image of sophistication that Xemnas wanted to project. She watched Demyx set up his sitar - an elegant, guitar-like instrument that he had painted blue. He winked and grinned at her. He must have noticed her staring, although she was certain that she hadn’t been _staring._

Xion recognised the whispers that electrified the visitors below her when the curtain went up. Her outfit must have been more of a statement than she had thought. Instead of feeling small underneath the gazes of so many sets of eyes, she recognised Axel and Roxas in the crowd and sung as though each song was for them alone.

* * *

His fingers tapped a steady rhythm on the wooden table, in time with the song that Xion was singing from onstage. Axel had attempted to get better seats – the best in the house, as he had promised Xion and Roxas – but Lexaeus had ushered them away. It was something about needing to pay a fee to sit there. A moronic idea if Axel had ever seen one but he had left with only a few snide remarks. Xemnas had to squeeze more money out of the place somehow.

“Is your boy-toy back yet? You’ve been here almost an hour and you still haven’t figured out that you’re supposed to order and _get out.”_ Larxene muttered, feigning interest about Axel being alone. Her tone caused Axel to wonder why she hadn’t been fired years ago. She slid a drink across to one of the other customers sat at the counter without taking her eyes off of him. “If you’re not going to get anything, piss off! I have a job to do, you know.”

“I’m not _that_ old, we’re pretty much the same age! And don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the time we spent together... Breaks my heart.” He leaned across the counter with a grin. Perhaps he had forgotten that he wasn’t drinking with anyone that night, and had started pre-drinking while Roxas went to retrieve his car. Axel knew that he should have gone with him, both to ensure his safety and to not be left alone in the bar.

“I hope it bleeds out.”

He spotted a familiar blonde walk through the door and hopped off of the stool to meet him. “Bad news... I couldn’t get the seats. They’re VIP or something? This place didn’t have VIP before, just assholes that managed to be friends with the boss.”

Roxas stared at him. “Axel... Are you drunk? I’ll get you some water, and we can sit down over there.” He pointed to a table booth. It was still at the back of the room, furthest from the stage, but Axel didn’t want to be manhandled by Xaldin for ‘trespassing’ again. “If you’re going to throw up, head to the bathrooms.”

“Maybe? You should’ve stayed here with me... stopped me from getting into trouble.” Axel poked his tongue out at him while Roxas dragged him over to the table that he had suggested. Roxas held onto his shoulders with both of his arms to force him to sit down. He gazed up at him. “If you wanted to pin me down, we should’ve gotten one of the more _private_ tables.”

Roxas covered his face with one hand as he sat down beside him. “We should save that for– some other time. Tonight isn’t about us.” He moved Axel’s hand, which had wandered to rest on his thigh. “Stop it! How much did you drink?!”

He could still see Xion up on the stage, singing her heart out. XIII was nowhere near the top of a ‘best places to start a career’ list, not by a long shot, and Axel had wished that she had applied to any other job but that one. But she was clearly enjoying herself up there, a far cry from the girl that he had first met about a year ago. She had more confidence than he had ever known her to possess when she sang; he could watch her all night. That was what he was there for, wasn’t it? 

“...Who cares, Roxas?”

“I care, because you’re going home in my car and if you’re going to throw up you’ll probably throw up on me!” Roxas gave him a glass of water. Axel stared as it as though he had never seen water before and took a reluctant sip. “Drunk hookups are only fun if we’re both drunk.”

Axel leaned over and kissed his lips. He knew he tasted of the alcoholic beverages he had been drinking when he saw Roxas’s nose wrinkle. Cute. “You mentioned hooking up, not me.” He breathed in between kisses to his jaw.

Roxas pushed him away. “That didn’t mean I wanted to, not right now! Come on, Xion will be coming offstage soon, and then we can go home.” His irritability only told Axel that he had gotten to him already. That, and the way that he held an arm to cover his face while he led Axel across the bar towards the stage. 

Xion had just finished singing, and was smiling as she accepted gifts of money and flowers from the people below her. She did so naturally, although Axel could see the shifting of her feet against the wooden boards. No one would truly become used to that much praise, not after feeling invisible. He was pleased that she hadn’t allowed the sudden attention to get to her head. She stepped down from the stage when she saw them, a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

“Who are those from?” Roxas asked. 

The flowers were mostly roses - whoever had sent them, they were trying to send a message. Axel stared at them with a disapproving look. The kind of people that would send flowers to a young bar singer were not likely to be the kind of people that he would want to see around Xion. She had only been there for a short time; it was too soon to be getting into a relationship with a regular, or someone else who worked with her. 

“I don’t know. They were left backstage - the tag only said they were for me.” Xion looked up at Axel. “Don’t look at me like that- singers get flowers all the time! At least... that’s what Demyx said...” Her gaze centred on Axel and she stepped closer to him, almost squaring him up. “Wait... are you drunk? You _are_ , aren’t you?” She giggled. “Let’s go home and sober you up.”

“Oh come on! Don’t be such a buzzkill... By the way, those flowers were probably from the little creep onstage.” His voice was slurred as he glanced in Demyx’s general direction. He caught Xion narrowly hiding a smile, although it was impossible for her to hide the flushed appearance of her skin. 

Roxas grabbed one of his hands and Xion took hold of the other. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Demyx watching them leave. Or, more accurately, watched Roxas and Xion escort him from the bar. Was there something between them? The thought made his head hurt. He leaned against Roxas and kept his focus on how pleasant the fresh air felt against his warm, clammy skin. 


	13. Chapter 13

He had dropped Axel off outside the apartment building the previous night. It wasn’t something that he was proud of, leaving Xion to handle him by herself. But seeing him in that state, blatantly enamoured with him and without any inhibitions, reminded him of all of the reasons why he should let Xion deal with him and come back to see him once he felt better.

Roxas groaned as he heard his mother knocking on the door. “Mom, what is it? Come in!” He could think of no reason for her to knock on his door unless she wanted to yell at him for coming home late or for waking up too late. Sometimes he wondered if his parents saw him as an adult at all.

“Here’s all the college letters! They were underneath this month’s bills... I should’ve gotten them to you earlier.” She handed him four envelopes. He had applied to local colleges, primarily, on his parent’s request. They must have wanted one child to remain close to home – Sora was studying abroad and his two older brothers had flown the nest years ago. “Breakfast is ready if you want to come down!”

Roxas sat up in bed and tore open each envelope in turn. “Declined, declined, declined...” He wouldn’t have his pick of colleges, he knew it. Without cramming sessions with Xion, he wouldn’t have passed many of his final exams. “...Accepted!”

The last envelope he had opened had been from a college further out from the city, with its own campus rather than student accommodation scattered amongst other residential areas. It wasn’t his first choice, but it was a specialty arts college. His first instinct was to reach for his phone and call Axel. It rang for a few seconds before it went to voicemail. He had forgotten that Axel was back at work that day, after the mishap at his job earlier in the week.

Xion’s phone also went straight to voicemail. He couldn’t blame her for sleeping in after taking care of Axel overnight. “Hey, Xion! Are you busy today? I just got the best news I’m going to hear all week, and we should go into town and celebrate! Call me back, and don’t just listen and go back to sleep! We need to catch up! Y’know, like we used to.”

He sent quick text messages to Sora and Kairi. They immediately answered with a picture of the two of them on the beach. Kairi was wearing a large sun hat and a pink bikini and Sora wore nothing but a pair of brightly-patterned swim shorts. Kairi captioned the photo with a message. ‘That’s amazing! Wish we were there to see your face. And take our pictures, Sora is terrible with the camera. See you soon!’

Roxas held the acceptance letter up to his face while his head landed back against his pillow. He would have to live on campus, which meant less time to spend with Axel unless either of them cared to travel. Axel didn’t drive, though, and worked full time. Student life would likely fill up his own schedule. The amount of time they had together after he started would slip away effortlessly. Perhaps Axel had made the right decision when he had asked for nothing ‘official’ to come of their relationship. There was only a couple of weeks left of summer, after all. When autumn drew in, who knew if what they had would last?

Xion answered his earlier call with a message. ‘Meet me in town, half an hour. You don’t mind shopping and coffee, right? Just realised that I actually have to spend the cash I get given.’

Roxas smiled at the text. ‘Shopping and coffee’ would have effectively described their day trips with Kairi and Sora on the weekends when they were in high school. They would wander around various places that they didn’t have enough money to buy anything from and then spend hours in a coffee shop, talking about anything and everything.

‘Wait, you’re just given cash? Have you even had your first paycheck?’

‘I’ll get it next week. See you later!’

The large square in the centre of the city’s shopping district had changed very little since he had last visited. People still milled around, often in large groups, visiting various stores and market stalls. This was where he and his friends had always met – the shopping district was close to their school, so it was a popular place for high schoolers.

There was a craft market on that day; he should have remembered. Kairi had taken him there before to collect supplies for her art projects. While he waited for Xion, he took a glance at a few of the stalls that sold art supplies. Paintbrushes, canvases in an array of sizes, every kind of paint that could possibly be imagined. Naminé would enjoy this place. He finished paying for some photography ink for himself and a set of hand-crafted paintbrushes to send to her when Xion tapped him on the shoulder.

“What’s the news? You forgot to say, earlier.” Xion smiled as bright as ever. She seemed to have dressed quickly to get there on time, only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Her fashion sense, aside from the dresses that she now wore to work, had hardly changed at all from when she was in high school. “Don’t leave me in suspense, what’s making you grin like that?”

“I got into one of the colleges I applied to. It was only my second choice, but applying to the best photography school in the country was a long shot anyway.” He tried to contain his excitement, to speak as casually as if the topic of conversation was what he had eaten that morning. Roxas had seen how Xion had reacted at the mention of college. “I get to live away from home, but still be close enough to see you all the time.”

“You got in?! You’re right, we  _ should _ be celebrating!” She took both of his hands and squeezed them before hugging him tightly. If she was feeling anything other than pride for him, her face failed to show it. “I should’ve done more than just take you shopping... Drinks on me, sometime soon?”

“...You’re going to turn me into an alcoholic, with all the nights out you’ve taken me on.”

“What about the college parties you’ll be going to? I’m just preparing you for the next few years.” She teased. Roxas couldn’t help but wonder if Xion had attended any college parties. He considered asking her for advice but the idea lost its appeal soon after it crossed his mind. Asking Xion about her experiences at college would be asking for a repeat of the night before, and Xion seemed too happy to ruin it with his tactless questions.

“I was thinking, we should go in those expensive stores. You know, the ones we used to stare at through the windows without ever going inside?” He tugged at her hand when she started to turn in the direction of their usual haunts. “It sounds like you have enough to spare, so why not use it?”

How Xion had come into possession of the money was unknown to him. He had seen people who visited the bar that she performed at handing it to her, or placing it on the stage for her to pick up. The bar was situated in a run-down part of the city, so he found it strange that so many wealthy people found themselves there. No matter how she came about it, she had earned it, so Roxas tried to put aside how odd it was.

“We used to think we’d get thrown out if we did.” Xion swung their arms together as they walked hand-in-hand towards a clothing store. They had met Kairi there after school many times. She could have spent hours staring at the dresses, the kind that none of their parents could afford to buy them. Now, they were the exact kind of outfits that Xion had to wear. “If I send Kairi pictures of me wearing any of these, do you think she’d get jealous? Maybe I could buy her one for her birthday...”

When they stepped inside of the store, Roxas wished that Kairi and Sora could be there. Xion bounced around, tracing her fingers along the luxurious fabrics and glancing at price tags far above any limit they had ever set before. Her eyes hovered over a shining sky-blue dress that slipped off of one shoulder. The colour matched her wide eyes. Roxas wandered over to her. Fashion had never been one of his interests, but there was a chance that he could convince her to be the subject of a photoshoot in her purchases if she bought anything. He could admit that she would look beautiful in any of the outfits there.

“You should try it on. Isn’t that what we’re here for?”

“Are you sure? Won’t you get bored?”

Roxas crossed his arms, insistent. “No chance. You get fancy clothes, I get a photoshoot. If that’s fine with you, I mean.” He had been accepted, but that didn’t mean he should neglect his portfolio. It was filled with images of his year-long trip to Europe, as well as a few of Axel. He had considered photographing Xion while she was on stage but the reaction from one of the regulars the last time that he had brought his camera with him had given him the impression that it was better not to.

“Sure, but... Can you help me pick out something for me to wear tonight? I can’t keep borrowing spare outfits and never returning them, so I figured I should have more of my own.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Roxas held a hand to his chin and looked over the rails upon rails of expensive dresses and suits. It was as though he was pretending to have experience or knowledge of fashion at all. He had shown up to school plenty of times in Sora’s clothes and had once attended prom in a hoodie; Xion knew better than to ask him for advice. It had been his idea for them to go out and she didn’t want him to feel left out. Her promise of a photoshoot while she was trying on outfits had seemed to brighten him up.

“Try on that blue one. You’ve had your eyes on it since you came in here.” He carefully took one dress off of the rail. Xion watched him glance over at the person at the counter, who was talking to someone else, and stifled laughter. Roxas gave her an encouraging smile and handed the dress to her. “I’d look for a suit or something, but I don’t have any events coming up… Next would probably be Sora’s wedding or something.”

“Sora and Kairi are engaged?! When?” It was difficult to believe that Sora and Kairi wouldn’t immediately announce that they were getting married. If that was true, it would be all that Sora would talk about. She could imagine Kairi wanting to keep it a secret until they received an invitation, though. Out of the four of them, they were the most likely to get married. Her thoughts drifted to how Roxas and Axel had behaved around each other the previous day; almost like a married couple. Perhaps she was the only one for which a long-term relationship - let alone marriage - wasn’t on the table. The thought bothered her less than she assumed it would. She couldn’t imagine herself as a bride, although the wedding dresses and blushing brides around her were both beautiful.

He chuckled and waved dismissively in the direction of the changing booth. “I meant that it’d be the next fancy event I’ll be invited to. They’re not engaged, not yet. Do you not think we’d be the first to know? I’m his twin!” She wondered if she would have been informed directly from the happy couple. They had been close, certainly, but with Sora and Kairi traveling abroad they had drifted apart. Xion had failed to tell them that she had dropped out of college. If she was unable to admit it, afraid of their judgement, how close  _ were _ they?

Xion stepped into the changing booth and closed the curtain behind her. The fabric felt light in her hands and between her fingers as she calmed her racing thoughts. She let out a deep breath and slipped on the dress, turning to face the mirror. It was shorter than she expected, revealing more of her legs while still leaving a river of blue fabric behind her. Not a dress that she should wear when getting a ride to or from work with Demyx, she thought with a smile. The colour matched the shade of her eyes. Would he notice that if she wore the dress that night? She shook those thoughts out of her mind. It didn’t matter whether Demyx noticed - what worried her more was how concerned she was about what he would think. Better his compliments than anything from the audience largely consisting of drunken men, she considered. Their comments on her appearance sounded less like compliments and more like jeers.

“So? How does this look?” She smoothed down the dress as she took herself outside to meet Roxas. Roxas had his camera at the ready but lowered it when he saw her. An assistant stood beside him, another dress in her arms. She could recognise a white-to-black gradient dress that she had eyed while browsing. Had Roxas asked for the assistant’s help?

“It looks amazing! Clasp your hands together in front of you- yeah, like that-” Roxas was entirely focused on getting the perfect photograph, and Xion couldn’t blame him. The look in his eyes was full of excitement and a passion that she had never seen in Roxas before. She let Roxas adjust her position and take a few more pictures without complaint. “Maybe one of you mid-spin? The way the fabric moves is pretty- I should send it to Nami, it’ll transfer so well to a painting-”

Xion turned slowly as he instructed her and paused in the desired position. “You’ll fit right in at college. Maybe you’ll find some friends that love all of this as much as you do.” She told him and watched his grin grow. That was exactly what teachers had told her, though, when she had announced proudly that she had been accepted into college. She was almost certain that it would be true for Roxas, though. However close they were, they weren’t the same. Roxas would surely flourish at college regardless of her own experience.

Roxas stared at her. His expression was blank, as though he had lost his train of thought. “I hope so, but I’ll still be around for you too. It’s not like I’m across the country.” He smiled warmly and took a few more pictures. “You can try on this one too, if you’d like. It’s a bit more practical, but I guess you could still wear it to work.”

“Would I?! I’ve been looking at that one since I first saw it… even if Saïx throws a fit about me wearing it to work, I’ll get some use from it.” Xion doubted that Saïx, a stickler for convention and rules though he was, would find any fault with the dress that was handed to her. It was simple, perhaps too simple for the stage, but it could easily be paired with jewellery to make it appear more glamorous than it initially seemed.

A bell rung to signal that someone else had entered. The assistant that had been helping Roxas handed the dress to Xion and apologised, then went over to greet the newly-arrived customer. Demyx looked as unsuited to being there as she and Roxas did. He wore ripped, acid-washed jeans and a t-shirt. She could only make guesses as to why he was there. Picking up something for Xemnas, maybe, or getting a suit adjusted. She had never seen him wearing anything but casual clothes, even on stage.

The musician was doing nothing remarkable. He idly conversed with the assistant while she took his measurements and suggested a few options for the suit’s colour. Initially it appeared that he hadn’t noticed Xion, while she was unable to keep her eyes off of him. She couldn’t help her curiosity. What would someone like Demyx be doing in a place like this?

“Hey, isn’t that the guy you work with? Demyx?” Roxas asked under his breath.

Xion watched the assistant leave Demyx for another customer. It was wedding season, after all. She was almost certain that Demyx wasn’t getting married; he would have mentioned a partner by now, or at least she thought he would if he had one.

Once the assistant was obviously preoccupied, Demyx made his way over to them, a bright smile on his face. He looked Xion over, making her more aware of the dress that she was wearing. “Didn’t think I’d see you in here! Is this for tonight, or some other thing I don’t know about yet?”

“…I didn’t think you’d be here either!” It was the first time that she had ever seen him outside of work, and Demyx looked exactly the same as he did when they were performing together. “Well… maybe not tonight, but sometime. I needed more things to wear. Anyway, I should be saying that to you. What’s the occasion?”

He leaned in closer to murmur to her. “Well, I’m not supposed to be saying anything yet, but I got hired to do music for-'' Demyx looked around as though he was about to tell her a secret. In her periphery she could hear the excited chatter of a bride-to-be in the corner of the room, surrounded by attendants at her beck and call. “...For a wedding. It doesn’t happen often, so I need to look the part. Who knows, maybe they’ll give me a plus one.” He winked. So he certainly didn’t have a partner; otherwise he wouldn’t mention a ‘plus one’. That was nothing for her to be concerned about; her thoughts shouldn’t have wandered there in the first place. He held a hand to his chin. “You should buy it. I like the colour… something needs to brighten up the place, apart from Marluxia’s hair.”

Xion stifled laughter and took a glance at Roxas, who waved at Demyx but didn’t come over to them. She blinked at herself in a nearby mirror and noticed the smile that was engraved on her face. “I will. Does the wedding have a dress code? I was thinking… blue. Dark blue.”

“Hm… I’ll take your word for it. Your buddy looks like he’s getting impatient, and I have a suit to buy. I’ll catch you at the show tonight!” Demyx rushed off when another assistant called him over. She watched him trace his fingers over the material of a dark blue jacket while talking with the assistant, who nodded approvingly at his choice. He looked back at her and gave her a thumbs up. “Oh, and don’t forget about tomorrow!”

She repeated the gesture, her eyes not focused on Demyx and the assistant any more but instead somewhere behind him, in the distance. It took Roxas a few moments to get her attention. “How about that coffee shop we used to hang out in? I think our corner’s still there.” He suggested, turning his camera off. “Are you going to try that on?”

The coffee shop had opened in their freshman year of high school. It had been novel then, but over time it had become a regular meeting place for students of the local schools. Their favourite spot had been the corner by the window, furnished with a leather sofa that had grown more worn as they had progressed through school. It had been their hub for study sessions and the foundation for Sora’s caffeine addiction.

“What-? Oh, right, this.” Xion was still holding the monochrome dress in her arms. It was similar enough to what she tended to wear, with the darker, muted colours and shorter style. The dress toed the line between casual and luxurious. If Saïx wanted her outfit to be closer to luxurious, she could easily find some way to spice it up. “I’ll just buy it.” 

Roxas led her outside after they had paid for the two dresses. Out of the corner of her eye, Xion watched Demyx admire himself in the jacket that she had suggested. She had been right about the colour. Turning away from him, they almost ran towards their old haunt with the same joy in their steps as they had had when they were younger, meeting up with friends after school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I've been sitting on this since summer, there *is* another chapter after this one but probably (definitely) not yet. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to those who are celebrating!


End file.
